


The Courtship of Kai

by Guardian_of_Hope



Category: Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Asexuality, Friendship, Love at First Sight, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-24
Packaged: 2017-10-20 04:44:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 30,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/208869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kai doesn't believe in love, among other things, but when he looks into the eyes of a scruffy stow-away he falls hard.  Not that he's going to admit that to anybody.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

 

He remembers the first time he ever kissed a girl, not because it was awkwardly wonderful, but because it was bitterly disappointing even before Callie Mitchell slapped him.  She called him a cold fish, but he thinks he’s just doing it wrong.

Two years later, Amy Masters tells him he could be kissing the wrong gender.  She lets him take her out, though, and he buys her gifts on Valentine’s Day and if he brought her home after prom, he takes her to an amusement park the next day to make up for it.

They kissed for the cameras at graduation, and hugged each other in private for college.

He remembers the first time he ever kissed a boy, how he had anticipated finding all the answers and ending up even more disappointed.  John liked it though, and didn’t seem inclined to punch him.  Therefore, he thinks that maybe it’s something he needs to get used to.

He sleeps with Kevin fall of his sophomore year and with Julie in the spring, and in the end, finds himself even more confused.

Junior year starts with the completion of a bet and he goes with Kevin to a GLSBTA Alliance meeting.  There, he finds an answer to his question of why romance, which most people ignored, came easy to him, but sex did not.

Her name was Amanda and in the middle of the post-meeting party, read, too many people, too much beer, she told him that she was the ‘A’ in GLSBTA.  He asked if it was for Amanda, and she said it was for ‘asexual’.  In five minutes, she took his world view, turned it upside down and shook it lose of all his expectations of love, sex and romance.

Amanda lasted four months.  It was the best four months of his life.  For once, he was in a relationship that moved slow, there was no headlong rush to a bedroom, but slow walks on the boardwalk, and beautiful sunsets.

Amanda got tapped for a government job with NASADA and he found himself on the verge of a major decision.  He’d spent a childhood playing army.  He had more pictures of him in camo than in any other outfit.  On the other hand, he was on track to graduate in three semesters with a Bachelors.

The solution came in a way he didn’t expect.  Her name was Kendrix, and she wandered into an Alliance meeting on accident and never left.  Kendrix was on her way to a big government project as soon as she got her degree, and said project was looking for college graduates will to step into a paramilitary role.  The pay was better than any other military job, and they’d even settle his college loans if he made it into the project.

He applied, and they accepted.  After an interesting job interview, he was on his way to a leadership role in the GSA.  In less than a month, he had a new best friend in the form of Kendrix, and a slower building friendship with one of his fellow officers, Mike Corbett.

Then it was time for the last GSA exercise, and when confronted by a stowaway masquerading as a soldier, he made a big mistake.

When Leo Corbett met his eyes the first time, a jolt of recognition ripped through him, and Kai Chen, without conscious thought or permission, fell.  In love.


	2. Chapter 1

As soon as the door to Kai’s room shut, he leaned against the door, bowed his head down, closed his eyes and sighed. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to think of the one thing he’d forced from his mind from the moment he realized what was happening.  
 

 _Mike…_

Kai shook his head and straightened up, he couldn’t fully dwell on his friend. There was too much to do, especially since they were leaving Earth an officer down. As Kai pulled his uniform shirt off, he reflected that he was going to learn a lot more about Terra Venture than he’d originally anticipated. It was, in fact, the one thing he had not anticipated in that list he’d incinerated on his last trip from his apartment to Terra Venture with belongings. He blinked and realized he was standing, shirtless, in the middle of his room like an idiot. He pulled on a faded t-shirt and jeans before pulling his boots back on. As he did so, he felt a twinge of regret for not tracking down a pair of sandals to wear off-duty.

Commander Stanton had made his opinion of bare feet quite clear the one time Kai had dared to venture out shoeless.

As he was putting away his uniform, the door chimed. “Stand and be recognized,” Kai said. He knew who was coming to visit him; it was the only person who ever came to his room. The self same person who had tricked him into the archaic phrasing that was all the door answered to now.

“Kendrix,” the computer announced, confirming his private guess.

“You are recognized, enter and be welcome,” Kai chanted as he tugged an imaginary wrinkle from his bed.

Kendrix, well, the only word Kai could think to use was _bounced,_ into his room. “Are you ready to start packing?” She asked cheerfully.

“No,” Kai said, sitting on his bed. He couldn’t help staring at his friend, because while she was normally irrepressibly cheerful and energetic, he hadn’t seen her like this before. Then he stopped, remembering one memorable night when someone had given her a coffee laced with some other stimulate. This was just like that, as if she couldn’t keep still, because if she did she’d explode.  
 

“Why not?” Kendrix asked, looking at the small room. “My closet in my apartment is bigger than this room.” She glanced around, “You’re old apartment is bigger than this room.

Kai ignored her complaint, as he always did. “Because I don’t want roommates.” He crossed his arms and leaned back so that he could watch her, and to hide the fact that he was almost as jittery as she was.  
 

“There is nothing wrong with roommates,” Kendrix said, in the same cheerful yet forced tone she’d used every time she’d lost a roommate. Except for the last one, they had all been through no fault of hers. Kai couldn’t blame Cami though, because Kendrix didn’t need coffee in the morning. No, Kendrix was _addicted_ and _craved_ her coffee and could be very scary if she didn’t get some within fifteen minutes of waking up.  
 

“I like my privacy,” Kai said, bringing his mind back to the not-argument he was having, “and I don’t spend time here except when I want to be alone.” Kai stared at her as Kendrix sat down on the bed beside him. For a long moment, Kendrix stared into his eyes with a faint frown, as if he had become a puzzle that she was trying to solve. “What?” he asked irritably.  
 

“You’re upset,” Kendrix said, tilting her head, a crease appearing in her brow, “why?”  
 

“I don’t know,” Kai said, his tone was laced with sarcasm, “a friend just died, we’ve left Earth on a one way trip to nowhere, maybe it’s the fact that I spent half the day running around in spandex!”  
 

Kendrix’s eyebrows rose and she began to smile, “Or, you could have a crush.”  
 

Kai stood up, “What is with you and assuming that every time I get snappy, I have a crush? Why do I have to fall in love with people? I’m perfectly happy with some good friends, you, of all people, know that.”  
 

“Friends can’t hold you when you have nightmares, Kai,” Kendrix replied, also standing up. “Besides, you said it yourself, you don’t care about gender.”  
 

“I don’t care about gender because I don’t care about,” Kai stopped himself. “You need to leave.”  
 

“What?” Kendrix said, startled.  
 

“Go,” Kai said, “Just go. I don’t want to get into this, ok? I’m moving into the quarters Stanton assigned tomorrow. Contrary to what I want, I’ve been ordered to move and so I will move.”  
 

Kendrix smiled, “Don’t worry, Kai. I’m not mad; I’m just worried about you. Like you said, a friend just died. I thought you might not want to be alone.”  
 

Kai stared at her for a moment, and then hugged her. After a moment, she hugged him back. Kai took a deep breath, breathing in the mixed scent of vanilla and lavender that Kendrix favored. It soothed him even as it startled him. He'd never really noticed the scent of her shampoo before. After a moment she stepped back, “I’m sorry,” Kai said. “I don’t know what’s wrong, I can’t focus, or settle, and my emotions are just everywhere.”  
 

“I think we all feel it,” Kendrix said, “I mean, I know we all fell asleep, but that didn’t really last.”  
 

“I had wondered,” Kai admitted. “You guys looked pretty cozy in there.”  
 

“I actually came by to ask you about dinner,” Kendrix said, “and, well, to see if you wanted help packing?”  
 

“Yes to dinner,” Kai said, “no to packing.” He glanced around the small room, “remember, I had all that time to bring stuff up here. It’s going to take forever to repack it all, move it and unpack again.”  
 

“That’s why I offered to help,” Kendrix said, she smacked his arm, “pay attention silly.”  
 

“Maybe I will want help,” Kai said after a moment.  
 

“Fine,” Kendrix said, “but we’re eating first.”  
 

“Food first,” Kai agreed.  
 

“There’s just one thing,” Kendrix said.  
 

“What’s that?” Kai asked.  
 

“You might want to change your shirt,” Kendrix said.  
 

Kai glanced down, he was wearing his old Alliance t-shirt; the one Amanda had attacked with colored markers and a glitter pen. The glitter was mostly washed off, but the markers were still visible, clearly reading ‘I MAY BE AN ACE, BUT I AM NOT A PILOT.’  
 

Kai flushed, “Right,” He said. “Step outside and let me change.”  
 

“I have brothers, I’ve seen it before,” Kendrix replied.  
 

Kai huffed a laugh and pulled his shirt off, exchanging it for a GSA t-shirt the same blue as his uniform. “Better?” He asked her.  
 

“Well, you could have just gone shirtless,” Kendrix said, mock-mournfully, “but I guess that shirt will do.”


	3. Chapter 3

Living with Leo and Damon wasn't as bad as Kai thought it would be. There were privacy issues, and bathroom issues, and if Leo didn't stop eating everything in sight it would have gone better, but they adjusted to each other easily enough.

The only real issue that Kai found in living so close to Leo, it was that all the things that should annoy him about the all too pretty Red Ranger didn't even cause a blip in his radar. Oh, he acted annoyed with Leo and he complained, loudly, to Kendrix, but really, he didn't mind. Because every time Leo forgot to hang his towel up in the bathroom, he made up for it by doing the dishes and picking up the living room.

In fact, it didn't take long for them to work together to create a good living situation. Kai cooked and kept the bathroom clean, Leo did dishes and looked after the living area and Damon cleaned the kitchen and did the laundry.

It had startled both Damon and Leo when Kai had simply started cleaning the bathroom, but as he told them, he'd end up cleaning it again if one of them did it because he was that anal. Of course, it could have been that he readily acknowledged that he was that anal.

The first sign of trouble, however, came when Damon started dating a girl from the Engineering Department. "She's pretty, smart and knows about engines," Damon said, "what's not to like." He sighed as he settled onto one of the chairs in the living area, data pad in one hand.

"She is pretty," Leo agreed from his spot on the couch, "but she's not my type."

"What is your type?" Damon asked, "Tall, leggy and blond?"

"No," Leo replied, "I like being taller than my partner actually and too many of the blonds I know like to pretend they're dumb."

"Not Kendrix," Kai felt compelled to point out from where he was working on dinner, "she's a little naïve, but she's not dumb."

"No," Leo agreed, "Kendrix is not dumb."

"Maybe you should think about her," Kai offered, knowing that Kendrix wouldn't be averse to dating the Red Ranger. He slid the noodles into the water and turned on the timer.

"Aren't you and Kendrix together?" Damon asked.

" _Me_ and _Kendrix,"_ Kai said, stunned at the idea, "no. Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You two are pretty close," Leo said, looking over the back of the couch.

Kai stirred the tomato sauce for a moment to compose a response, "Kendrix and I have known each other for years. We met at an Alliance meeting in college and hit it off as friends." He put a lid on the sauce and wandered out of the kitchen to claim the other seat. "Kendrix and I are just friends. We're looking for things in a relationship that the other can't provide and what we have is too important for us to risk."

"What Alliance?" Leo asked.

"I'm sorry?" Kai asked, startled.

"You said you met Kendrix at an Alliance meeting," Leo said, "what Alliance?"

Kai blinked and ran his words back through his head, and then he took a deep breath. "In college," he said, "I was part of a GLSBTA Alliance. My ex boyfriend dragged me to a meeting on a dare and I stayed because of Amanda. Kendrix wandered in to a meeting on accident and decided to stay."

"You're gay?" Damon said.

"I prefer the term panromantic," Kai replied and stood up, "it's not as confining."

The door chimed, interrupting Damon's next question, "Who is it?" Leo asked.

"Kendrix and Maya," the computer replied as Kai checked the tomato sauce.

"Let them in," Leo ordered.

Kendrix and Maya came in laughing, "You will not believe what happened," Kendrix said as she threw herself into the chair Kai had vacated.

"What?" Leo asked.

"One of the anthropologists asked Maya out," Kendrix said, "he brought her flowers and everything."

Maya, sitting on the floor by Kendrix's chair, smiled, "You need not tease Scott so, Kendrix. He was so nervous."

"Did you say yes?" Leo asked.

"Once I understood what he wanted, of course I did," Maya replied.

"Hey Kendrix," Damon said, "What's panromantic?"

"It's a person who dates anyone," Kendrix said promptly, "regardless of gender identity or sexuality. It's commonly used as an identifier for a..."

"Does everyone want garlic bread?" Kai asked, stepping out of the kitchen, "Because everything's almost ready."

"Yes please," Maya said.

"Of course I want garlic bread," Kendrix said, "did you honestly think I was going to turn down any of your food?"

"Damon, Leo?" Kai asked.

"Yeah," Leo said.

"Sure," Damon said with a shrug.

"Then would you mind giving me a hand, Kendrix?" Kai asked, "Please."

"Sure," Kendrix said and got up to come help him.

As they cut the bread, put the spread on it and sent it into the toaster, Kai regretted the lack of privacy between the kitchen and living room. Then Leo started up a conversation about Maya's date and Kai took advantage of the noise to hiss to Kendrix, "Could you not bring _that_ up, please?"

"You must have said something," Kendrix replied, "Damon asked."

"It was a mistake," Kai said.

"They'll take it better than you think," Kendrix replied, "You just have to trust me."

"You're not the one I don't trust," Kai muttered. Then he busied himself with finishing the spaghetti, and, he hoped, the conversation was forgotten.

Damon never brought it up again, but Kai slowly became aware that Leo was watching him. Any time the two of them were alone, he started feeling eyes on him. He wouldn't have been surprised if Kendrix was grilled by Leo after that, but if she told him anything, neither of them admitted it to Kai.

The uneasy state of affairs lasted until Mike came back to them, and that opened up a whole new avenue of uncomfortable for the team. Mike knew Kai's secret, and Mike was Leo's big brother. Kai couldn't help but feel that this was going to end _well._


	4. Chapter 4

Mike's return to Terra Venture was something of a sensation, even as the other Rangers worked to downplay their status, he was something of a celebrity, both as a new ranger and his 'back from the dead' story. Kai was privately thankfully it took nearly a month for Leo to come into the room, notice Damon was gone, and say, "Mike says you're asexual."

Kai sighed as he leaned against the cabinet, "I am," he replied, "do you have a problem with that?"

"I wouldn't say I have a problem," Leo replied, "although I am confused."

"What about?" Kai asked.

"I don't understand asexuality, I guess," Leo said, "I mean, I never thought about it."

Kai shrugged, "I don't care to have sex, Leo. No, I'm not a virgin, yes I've slept with both genders. Sex just doesn't interest me. It's messy and awkward and I don't enjoy it. I do like romance; however, it's why I say 'panromantic asexual'. I like being with people in groups or one on one to a certain extent." He spread his hands a little, "I like traditional romance, with flowers and candlelight dinners and long walks. I'm not comfortable with kissing and I don't want sex."

Leo tilted his head, "I understand what you're saying," he said finally, "I just never thought of it."

"Most people don't," Kai replied. "I think it's because most people are so hard-wired with the desire to procreate that they can't imagine someone who  _doesn't_  want to contribute to the gene pool in the natural fashion."

"Ok," Leo said, "so when you said you and Kendrix were looking for something."

"Kendrix is patently hetero," Kai said, "she wants marriage, children, the whole nine yards. She's just having trouble with the husband bit. While she's looking, and kissing the frogs, I'm there to play big brother for her. In return, she lets me take her out to dinner or a movie and we do bicker like an old married couple on occasion. We're best friends, but that's all we are."

"Hence why you said I should consider her," Leo said.

"I want her to be happy," Kai replied, "you're a good man, Leo Corbett, and you'd be good for her. Maybe while you're trying to understand me, you should consider her as well."

Kai left Leo to his thoughts, and tackled the other problem in his life. Namely, the problem of Damon and Maya; now that everyone else knew, it was only fair that he tell them as well.

The moment came two weeks later, when Damon had a day off following the arrival of the green rangers and their subsequent pranks. Nothing was really said, but Damon going postal on the electric machine had probably played into that decision. Maya had come to visit during lunch and Kai, also enjoying his day off, decided to seize the moment. "Damon, Maya," he said, "I have something I need to tell you two."

"Ok," Damon said.

"First off, I need to apologize, because Kendrix and Mike knew this and Mike told Leo. Second of all, it's nothing bad." Kai said as he watched them for a moment. "It's like this, I'm a panromantic asexual."

"Which means?" Damon asked.

"I am not interested in sex," Kai said bluntly, "not with either gender. I find it messy, awkward and it's not an experience I'd care to repeat. I do like romance, even if I don't actually care about the gender of a romantic interest."

"I do not," Maya began, "what about a family? Do you not want your legacy to be spoken of by your children?"

Kai sighed, "Having children the natural way isn't a preferred option for me. I wouldn't say no to adopting a kid or two someday."

Damon nodded slightly, "I can't say I understand, but I'm not going to beat you up for it, Kai. You're not into sex, I guess that's just more ladies for me."

Kai laughed, "Ah, but I am an expert at romance, Damon. I  _like_  romance. There's just something about the expression on a woman's face when you give her flowers or a guy's even. That I get, and I like."

"I am not sure I understand," Maya said. "I will talk to Kendrix; I know that she will explain this."

"Kendrix is good at explaining things," Kai agreed. "I do have a request; I'd rather this didn't get bandied about the colony. People don't always accept my choice, either because they think I'm not experienced or because I was hurt by someone. The former spend a lot of wasted effort in getting me to sleep with someone and the later are usually psychiatrists or people who can make me undergo psych evals when I should be doing my job." He shrugged, "The team knows, and Colonel Stanton knows, not to mention a few others from when I applied to be on Terra Venture, but I don't like to make a big deal about it."

"Sure," Damon said, "I won't say anything."

"Me either," Maya agreed.

That was that, until the evening two days later when Kai walked out of the bathroom in his old Alliance t-shirt, which he had avoided wearing before, and threw himself onto one of the chairs. "What's an Ace?" Damon asked after reading his shirt.

"Slang term for asexual," Kai replied as he picked up his book, "Ace of Hearts, because I'm panromantic. My ex-girlfriend Amanda designed the shirt for me."

"I thought you didn't date," Damon said.

"I date," Kai said, "I just don't have sex," he paused in the act of opening his book, "I don't kiss either. My old friend Amy said I lacked passion, the first girl I kissed, Callie, just slapped me and called me cold."

Leo coming out of the kitchen, laughed, "You don't seem like the type to get slapped, Kai."

"I've had my moments though," Kai admitted, letting the book fall open absently, "usually because I seemed uninterested or cold to a date that missed the key aspect of my personality."

Leo settled on the couch and picked up the remote, "Anyone mind if I watch TV?"

"Just don't shatter my ear drums," Kai replied lifting his book up pointedly. Kendrix would be mad at him for not finishing it sooner, but he was enjoying it as much as she'd said he would.

"No," Damon replied as he picked up an engineering magazine he'd gotten from someone, "I don't mind." He flipped it open ostentatiously, then frowned and turned it right side up while turning his lamp on.

"Awesome," Leo said and turned the TV on. He flipped through a few channels before settling on a broadcast from Earth, a baseball game that even Kai found hard to ignore when it went into extra innings. When Leo's team won, Kai branded the image of Leo jumping around like a psychotic jumping bean for later, when he could take it out for a remembered smile and even a soft chuckle.

Look back, Kai pointed to that night as their last quiet night before Andros and the Psychos arrived, and especially before they lost Kendrix. The next day's lunch was the last time Kai had a chance to talk to Kendrix one on one before it all went down. On the other hand, the bad things that happened had a few good things disguised inside, some of which Kai never expected and some of which, in hindsight, should have been devastatingly obvious.


	5. Chapter 5

After Kendrix died, Kai was numb. He knew he should be feeling something, anything, but he couldn't. It was as if he walked in a fog of bewilderment for those few weeks. He wanted to mourn Kendrix, he wanted to be angry that she'd died, but he felt nothing. Like an automaton, he went through the motions of living and fighting. None of the others seemed to notice, but then, they each had their own grief to deal with.

He cried for the first time the day Ashley helped them comfort Maya, but he still wasn't grieving. It wasn't until the day he walked into the quarters he shared with Damon and Leo and found Leo and Karone making out on the couch that he actually felt anything. What he felt was anger and jealousy, followed by stunned embarrassment as the pair jumped apart and started fixing clothes. "Kai," Leo said, "you're back early."

"I think you lost track of the time," Kai managed to say nodding to the clock.

"Right," Leo said, "sorry about this." He stood up, "I thought, well, never mind."

Karone stood up as she pulled the hair tie from her hair, "I'm sorry Kai," she said, "I didn't think."

"It's ok," Kai said, in an effort to achieve normalcy, and why was it so awkward all of a sudden? "I was thinking about making manicotti for dinner, how does that sound to you two?"

"I'm not sure," Karone replied, "but you're a fabulous cook so it'll be great whatever you make."

"I love manicotti," Leo added, "You are my hero."

"I wouldn't go that far," Kai replied. An awkward silence fell.

"I'm going to go take a shower," Karone announced and all but ran from the room.

Kai watched Leo for a long moment, "So," he began.

"It's not like that," Leo blurted out, "I mean, yeah, we like each other, but it's not like we're." He stopped, blushing.

"Friends with benefits?" Kai suggested.

"Well," Leo hedged, "yes?"

Kai shrugged, "That's fine with me. Just try to watch the clock better next time."

Mike later corner Kai in their quarters a few days later, "Are you mad at Karone?" The older man asked bluntly.

"Nope," Kai replied, "why?"

"She thinks you're mad at her because you caught her making out with Leo," Mike replied. He crossed his arms, "Is there something I should be aware of, Kai?"

"No," Kai replied easily even as his heart rate sped up. "You know I'm not into that sort of thing."

"Doesn't mean you can't care for people," Mike said.

"Leo's a good friend, Mike," Kai said, "despite what Kendrix thought on the matter. I'm hoping he'll become a best friend, but that's about it." He raised an eyebrow, "Besides, you know that Leo understands I'm asexual. It's the same thing as Kendrix, he wants something in a relationship that I can't give him, and I think I'm the wrong gender for him anyways."

"Leo's bi," Mike replied.

"Ok," Kai said, "fine. Still doesn't mean that anything is between us. I don't play games and I don't have sex with people. Whatever you're thinking, stop."

"Geez, I'll stop," Mike held up his hands, "you get so defensive. Why shouldn't you fall in love anyways, isn't that part of being panromantic?"

"I do fall in love, Mike," Kai said, "People just don't realize when I do. What's the point in telling people when I'm not going to sleep with them? I prefer to just have a handful of good friends and keep my love private."

"Sounds a little lonely," Mike said, "but if that's what you want Kai, you know I don't know enough about asexuality to call your bluff." He started for the door, then paused, "If you do go after my little brother, Kai, and you hurt him, I promise, no one will find your body."

Kai smiled weakly as Mike left, because that had been a conversation he really hadn't expected to have just yet. The door slid open and Karone came in, "Hello Kai," she said, "I was looking for Leo."

"He's not back from his self-defense class," Kai said, mentally shaking his head. Then he paused, "Hey, Mike seemed to think you think I'm mad at you."

"Well," Karone said, "I wouldn't have said mad, really, but you have been acting odd."

Kai chuckled, "Karone, whatever you think you're seeing, it's not because of you and Leo. Whatever you two are, or become, it doesn't bother me."

"Right," Karone said slowly.

"No, really," Kai said, "It doesn't bother me. Mike implied you thought it would. The thing is, Leo is looking for something in a relationship that I'm not going to offer, all we're good for is to be friends. If you want to be with Leo, go right ahead."

"Ok," Karone said, "thanks. I didn't know I gave Mike that impression, but thanks." Kai nodded, frowning at what he'd said. "Are you ok?" Karone asked, concerned.

"I," Kai began, and then swallowed, "I used to tell Kendrix's boyfriends that same thing."

"Oh Kai," Karone said, hesitantly putting her hand on Kai's arm, "Leo and Mike told you two were close."

"She was like my sister," Kai said as tears stung his eyes.

Karone reached for his other shoulder and Kai didn't fight it as she hugged him, "It's ok, Kai. You can cry if you need to."

Kai tried to fight for a moment, but there was something about the way Karone hugged him, it reminded him of Kendrix, and he couldn't keep the tears inside much longer. He cautiously held her back, unwilling to trap her or put his arms in the wrong place, but needing the comfort she could provide him.

Kendrix had always been more than his friend, she had been his emotional safe haven in his worse moments. In all honesty, Kai owed Kendrix his life. During their early days on Terra Venture, before the colony had left Earth, before they had become Rangers, Kai had met a girl name Hannah. She had seemed to be perfect, never questioned his reluctance in intimate matters, even Kendrix had liked the girl. Then Kai had told Hannah about his asexuality and Hannah's reaction had been horrible. Freak had been the kindest word she'd called him, and when she was done, he'd been left feeling as if his heart had been yanked out and stomped on and his soul had been torn to shreds.

It had been right after his final confrontation with his parents about his refusal to marry and have grandchildren, the push he'd needed to confirm his departure with Terra Venture. Between his parents' formal disowning and rejection of his choice and Hannah's cruel diatribe, Kendrix had been the sole light to keep him from killing himself that night. As he'd looked after Kendrix, protecting her from her psycho ex and calling the cops on her stalker, Kendrix had been the only person to see beyond his shell to his real feelings. She had born every emotional storm he'd experienced, from his parents' strident demands that he produce children before he was through with school to a string of blind dates and one-off dates who didn't understand that his version of friends with benefits didn't refer to sex.

Two months after he lost his best friend and lady-love, Kai finally allowed himself to grieve in the arms of a stranger.

Of course, that was the moment that Leo walked in.


	6. Chapter 6

Kai wasn't afraid of his emotions; he simply didn't feel a need to let the whole world know how he felt all the time like some people. Still, when Leo walked in to find Kai being held by Karone while he cried, Kai really wanted to just vanish into the floor. He stepped away from Karone and scrubbed one of his cheeks, "Leo," Karone said, "is everything ok?"

Leo shrugged, "Well enough," he glanced at Kai, "You ok, Kai?"

"Yes," Kai replied, "I'll be right back." He darted into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. The lights came on instantly and Kai turned his head to see himself in the mirror. He was a mess that was for sure. Kai leaned on the sink to study his face for a long moment, and then he turned on the water and splashed it on his face.

After drying his face off, Kai stared in the mirror, from the voices, Karone and Leo were talking in the main room, waiting on him no doubt. He hung the towel neatly, eyed the bathroom in hopes it needed cleaning, but went back out anyways.

Karone and Leo were still standing in the living room, and both of them looked at him when he emerged. "Is everything ok?" Kai asked quietly.

"Well, yeah," Leo said, "are you ok?"

"Never better," Kai said. "It was nice talking with you Karone, thanks. I have to go get food." He hurried out the door, not looking at either of his teammates.

Of course, that situation lasted for about a day before Maya found him, "What is going on between you, Karone, and Leo?"

"Nothing," Kai replied.

"They think you're mad at them," Maya said.

"Why do people always think I'm mad at someone?" Kai demanded, staring Maya in the eyes, "I'm not, I'm really, really not."

"I don't know," Maya replied, "why do you want people to think you're mad at them?"

"I don't," Kai said.

Their communicators beeped, "Kai," Kai said shortly.

"Kai, Damon," Damon replied, "monster in the park, Karone and Leo are already there."

Kai's heart clenched, "Let's go," he told Maya, "we'll meet you there, Damon."

"Right," Damon replied.

That touched off another round of monster fighting and adventure, leaving Leo with a Battlizer and Kai with a problem. Not only was the  _entire team_  convinced he was mad at someone, which he wasn't, but Kai was starting to wonder about Leo. The Red Ranger was starting to act weird around him. Not that this seemed to interfere with his whatever with Karone, from what Kai had seen, but it was noticeable only if you cared to put the pieces together into a messy whole.

Kai wasn't sure what to do, but he was almost positive that something was going on. Between the facts that Leo had developed a fondness for having Damon play bait to the fact that Maya had become his shadow whenever Leo wasn't around and finally the weird looks Mike gave him when the Magna Defender thought he was unnoticed.

Kai had started to form the puzzle, to peek at the solution, but whatever conclusions he might have only to end up throwing the whole thing into a box in the back of his head. Then he took the box and buried it deep in his mind. After that, if his dreams were strange in a good way, Kai didn't think twice. For one, they were a brief respite from the nightmares, and it wasn't as if he remembered his dreams anyway.

/…/

Kai stood at attention as Stanton paced around him, "You are in a lot of trouble."

"Yes sir," Kai said softly.

"You disobeyed orders, helped a prisoner escaped and nearly handed over a valuable artifact to our enemies," Stanton continued.

"Yes sir," Kai said.

"I understand why you acted as you did," Stanton said, coming around to stare into Kai's eyes. "Even if no one else does. The Guardian of the Book asked you, the Blue Ranger for help, and you did what was right." He turned away, "That is why I am going to place an addendum to your report that I believe that the intruder placed you under esoteric mind control; a control that was released when Deviot attacked you."

"Sir," Kai protested.

"It's either that or I drum you out of the GSA and place you in detention," Stanton replied, "for gross insubordination."

Kai swallowed, "Yes sir."

Stanton smiled at him, "What you need to understand, and what I trust you not to share beyond your team, is that I understand a lot more about Rangers than most. Ashley Hammond is my niece and she has given me some good advice in dealing with Rangers. That's why I'm going to let you off with a warning about mind control. We have enough going on right now with this 'Lost Galaxy' to worry about throwing one of my finest officers, and the Blue Ranger, in detention for doing what he thought was right."

"Yes sir," Kai said with a salute.

"Now, take the rest of the day and work with your team, see what you can determine about the Lost Galaxy. Keep the Galaxy Book on the Megaship, or in the secure locker already prepared for it. Don't let anyone who isn't a Ranger wander off with it. Dismissed."

"Sir, yes sir," Kai said and turned smartly, heading straight for the lift.

Everyone was waiting for him in his quarters, "Well?" Leo asked.

"Commander Stanton says I was clearly under some form of mind control," Kai told them, "so he wants me to stay away from Command for today. He also said to keep the book under close watch, Ranger access only."

"He's not reprimanding you?" Damon said, "I thought we'd have to bust you out of detention or something."

"Commander Stanton feels that we have enough to worry about, being trapped in the Lost Galaxy, without locking up one of the Rangers for doing the right thing." Kai replied, and sank down in his favorite chair.

"Maybe Stanton isn't entirely wrong," Karone said.

"Why, what do you mean?" Kai asked.

"There's this race, the Karmanians, at a certain point in their life cycle they pass on their powers and abilities to another. They can choose the person they want to pass their abilities on to and create a bond with that person. It's mostly to make the transfer easier, but it also inspires the one so chosen to protect them if necessary." Karone shrugged a little, "Maybe this was something similar. He knew Kai was the new protector, and that gave them a bond. It's not so much as control, as influence. You already have those feelings and instincts, because you're a Ranger."

"That's neither here nor there," Leo interjected, "Let's worry about the Guardian later, and worry about this Lost Galaxy now." He stood up, "Let's grab Mike and the book, and head over to the Megaship to see what DECA can help us make out of the whole mess."

Kai swallowed a little, and stood. He swayed, the room spinning, "Kai, are you ok?" Karone asked, catching his arm.

"Stood up to fast," Kai said, he shook his head slightly and felt his gut clench. "I'm going to make me a sandwich and join you there, ok?"

"Are you sure you're ok?" Leo asked.

"I'm sure," Kai replied, and eased away from Karone.

Leo glanced around, "Maya, go get Mike, please. Damon, Karone, you go ahead. I'll make sure Kai doesn't faint or something."

"That's really not necessary," Kai told him.

"I'm not taking chances."


	7. Chapter 7

Kai kept his head from hitting the kitchen island by a force of will he wasn't sure he still had. It had been a long day at the end of a bad week. First had been Mike's mission to rescue the slaves, he'd been up from the moment they confirmed Mike's capture. First to be spoken to by Stanford for letting Mike go without alerting anyone, then to wait for the time to rescue Mike. In the meantime, he and Leo had solved the question of how to get out of the Lost Galaxy. That had left him feeling drained even before they'd left Terra Venture.

He was secretly grateful they hadn't had to fight Captain Mutiny again, but he never wanted to hear Leo shout his brother's name like that again. Twice was two times too many for Kai. Then the hours they had spent looking, unwilling to admit what they were thinking, that they had lost Mike again, a feeling made all the worse for having gotten him back once.

Then Leo had brought him back. Mike had lost the Magna Defender powers to get them out of the Lost Galaxy, but had retained enough power to cocoon himself from the deadly void of space. They'd barely begun to relax when Karone found the notebook where Leo had written the reverse spell for the portal. That had been followed by a rant on the dangers of using magic without checking with her, the resident expert. Not that Karone could still use magic of course, it was just that she had the knowledge from Astronema.

After that, Kai had a long shift on the bridge, without food or sleep, and he was now, finally back in his quarters and ready to keel over. "Kai?"

Kai looked up to find Karone sitting down across from him, "Karone?" Kai said tiredly.

"I know you want to go to sleep," Karone said, "but I need to ask you something, and tell you something."

"What?" Kai asked, wondering if it would be rude if he put his head down.

"Leo told me you were asexual," Karone said. Kai snapped his head up, staring at her in shock. "I don't care," Karone said firmly. "You aren't on Earth any more. People really don't care. Except for the Itarans, but that's only because they have a thing about blood purity and at that, they'd probably be relieved that you don't want to cross bloodlines. Out here, what really matters is what you do, and who you are. A lot of aliens can't even tell the difference between male and female anyways. I just got the impression that you were sensitive about it, and I wanted you to know that nobody out here is going to care."

"What did you want to ask me?" Kai asked, deciding he was too tired to deal with Karone's announcement.

"Zhane, the Silver Astro Ranger, wants to come for a visit," Karone replied, "I thought I'd check with the whole team before I told Stanton he was coming."

"I don't care," Kai said, "as long as he isn't planning to blow up the forest dome or set off a volcano in the mountain dome, he can come visit."

"Thank you," Karone said, "and go to bed."

A long sleep and time off brought Kai back to his normal self, just in time to meet Zhane of KO-35. The blond haired Ranger arrived around noon, dressed in the black and silver uniform he was infamous for wearing, and flying a Zord Karone identified as the Mega Winger. "Karone," Zhane caroled as he approached them, "The light of my world, my princess, my queen. It has been far too long!"

"You've been reading Hasurani again, haven't you?" Karone asked with a laugh before hugging him tightly.

"I was really bored," Zhane told her. "Are you really planning to disembowel me with a rusty spoon?"

"Not today," Karone replied. "Zhane, these are the Galaxy Rangers, Leo Corbett of Earth, Red Galaxy Ranger, Kai Chen of Earth, Blue Galaxy Ranger, Damon Henderson of Earth, Green Galaxy Ranger, and Maya of Mirinoi, Yellow Galaxy Ranger. Everyone, this is Zhane of KO-35, Silver Astro Ranger."

Zhane nodded to each of them, and when Karone was done speaking, he stepped forward. He cupped his left hand just below his navel, and curved his right hand above it, leaving a clear space between, and then he bowed to them. "I have heard of Kendrix's Sacrifice," he told them solemnly, "I grieve for your loss. That which is good grant that Lady Morgan knows the peace of the Grid until her light returns to us."

Leo bowed slightly, looking extremely nervous, "I thank you," he said after a moment. "We all thank you." He straightened, "Welcome to Terra Venture, our Commander, Stanton, has asked that you stop by the bridge before you leave."

Zhane straightened, "I will." He paused, "Might as well do that right now, in fact. I can't stay long."

Kai raised his hand, "I'll take you, I'm about due for my shift anyways."

"Kai right?" Zhane said, giving him a long look, "Thanks."

Karone hooked her arm through Zhane's and the pair followed Kai to the elevator to Command. "Don't you guys have a sixth?" Zhane asked in the elevator.

"The Magna Defender powers were sacrificed," Karone replied. "Mike came back to us, but the Powers were lost."

"He saved our lives," Kai said, "he's also First Officer to Commander Stanton, so he serves as our liaison now."

"Then what do you do," Zhane said, giving him another measuring look.

"I work for Mike," Kai replied. "Technically, I'm part of Stanton's personal staff, but since I have to be available to answer any and all threats, Mike makes sure that I'm assigned jobs that I can leave and come back to."

Zhane nodded, and Karone leaned against him, "Have you heard about the Delta yet?" She asked.

"The Itarans acknowledged she was mine a few weeks ago," Zhane replied, "given that the ship was Mom's and I am the only one who can unlock her computer banks, they knew that they couldn't force me to give her up. Andros and I are getting her retrofitted for Ranger work."

They arrived at Command shortly thereafter and Kai joined Mike while Karone led Zhane to see Stanton. "That's Zhane," Mike said, "I've met him before actually."

Kai shrugged a little, "He's nice enough. I can see why Karone likes him."

"Give him some time," Mike told him, "he really grows on you."

Kai stared at Mike expressionlessly for a long moment, "Do you have more data entry for me sir," he said finally, "I finished the last batch."

"No," Mike said, "just relax Kai, there's nothing to do for five minutes."

In the tradition of Murphy's Law, the alerts for another attempt by Trakheena to attack the colony sounded. Mike started to follow Kai, and then stopped, looking torn. Kai put it from his mind as he followed Karone into the elevator. Glancing back as the doors closed, he saw Zhane put his hand on Mike's arm. Whatever happened next, Kai didn't know.

He was too busy fighting Stingwingers and the monster of the week to wonder about what had gone on between the pair. Then Zhane was gone, and if Karone spent time in the forest dome, it was because the illusion of wilderness was calming. It certainly had nothing to do with the scorched trees a couple of the botanists found. No one blamed Karone, after all, everyone knew Karone didn't use magic, hadn't used magic, since the day that her mind had been freed from Dark Specter.

This was followed by Leo finding a security camera hidden in Karone and Maya's room. Leo's rather spectacular blow up at the security officers did a lot to lighten the mood before things started to really go downhill at a rate comparable to an avalanche.


	8. Chapter 8

It was over and they had won.

Kai really wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle that, it felt like too much had happened in too short of a time for him to process it. They had gone from desperate to immigrate, to the new world, to crash landing, exploding stingwingers, losing the Megazords, and nearly losing Leo to a celebration. Not just any celebration, however, Kendrix had come back to them.

Maya and Karone had flung words about the Power that seemed to mean that Kendrix had been blasted into the Morphin Grid by the overload of pink power, but that she hadn't died because she wasn't meant to. Her body had been trapped in limbo until they had returned the swords to their stone.

Kai was sure someone would explain that one to him at some point, preferably, when he wasn't tired, hungry, or sore from battle.

"Hey," Kendrix said, appearing beside him, "are you still on duty?"

"No," Kai said, "I just finished my shift."

"Good," Kendrix said, "Because I want to talk to you."

Kai hesitated. Once, he would have been reluctant to talk to his friend, but at the same time, she had just come back from the dead and he  _had_  regretted not giving her more time to talk. "Ok," he said finally, "but we have to stop by the mess, I'm hungry."

"You starve yourself," Kendrix told him, "don't worry. We'll get you a real kitchen soon enough."

"Right," Kai replied.

They got food from the GSA mess tent and settled into a clearing on the edge of the GSA explored area. "So," Kendrix said, "what's going on between you and Leo?"

Kai sighed, "We're just friends, Kendrix, that's all we are. The team knows I'm asexual, as you know, and they pretty much leave me to it. Leo and Karone had some friends with benefits thing going, but I don't know how that ended."

"Mike said Leo was bisexual," Kendrix said.

"Doesn't mean he's willing to be celibate," Kai retorted, "you, of all people, know that I prefer that my partners not cheat on me."

Kendrix hummed for a moment, "Kai, are you trying to convince me, or are you trying to convince yourself."

"Does it matter?" Kai asked, "Me and Leo aren't going to work out. I'm not stupid enough to think we will."

"You aren't even giving him a chance," Kendrix said. "You're just declaring it won't work and walking away without even trying."

"Because I will lose him," Kai said. "It won't work, and I'd lose my friend. I'd rather have him as a friend and never tell him I love him then to say it and then have everything we are crumble because he's a noble idiot."

"So you would, what, rather suffer in silence?" Kendrix asked, "Noble self-sacrifice, that's always been your backup."

"I'm not suffering," Kai protested, "maybe I don't get to do all the little things I like, but I get to spend time with Leo, and he respects me. I like that. Why do I have to date someone just because I like them?"

"You're impossible," Kendrix said standing up, "just impossible. I just want you to be happy."

Kai stood up too. He was opening his mouth to respond when his communicator went off. Jabbing the button to activate the radio, he snapped, "Go for Kai."

"Kai, Maya," Maya said, "can you and Kendrix come over to the Stone? We have a visitor."

Kai looked over at Kendrix, who nodded. "We'll be right there," Kai said. He picked up his half eaten lunch and headed back to the mess tent, Kendrix right behind him.

The cook eyed the half full trays and looked at them, "Is everything all right?" She asked.

"Fine," Kai said, "just had something come up. It's nothing to worry about." He headed back out of the tent, breaking into a jog as soon as he was clear of the ropes.

Maya was waiting for them, "It is Zhane," she said quietly.

"Zhane?" Kendrix repeated.

"Silver Astro Ranger," Kai said.

Maya nodded and headed into the clearing, Kendrix and Kai following. "I self destructed my battlizer," Leo was saying.

"He survived," Damon offered as Kai stopped Kendrix with a hand on her shoulder.

"And he is never doing that again," Maya added, stepping into the clearing.

"Zhane," Karone said, "this is Maya of Mirinoi, I don't know if you two were formally introduced. She's the Yellow Galaxy Ranger. Maya, this is Zhane of KO-35, Silver Astro Ranger."

"I am honored," Maya said gently.

"The pleasure is all mine," Zhane replied easily, and with a wink. He turned to Karone, "So you'll be staying here then?"

"I don't have to stay," Karone said. She glanced over Maya's shoulder and nodded slightly, "You see, I never finished my last message to the Astros. I'm sure they told you about Kendrix."

"Yes," Zhane said.

Kendrix shrugged Kai's hand off of her shoulder and walked out to stand beside her friend. "Reports of my death," Kendrix said, softly, "have been greatly exaggerated."

"Zhane, this is Kendrix and Kai. Kai is the blue Galaxy Ranger. Kendrix is the Pink Galaxy Ranger," Karone said.

"Karone, I passed the saber to you," Kendrix protested as Kai slung his arm over her shoulders.

"And now I give it back," Karone replied, she looked up at Zhane, "I promised Zhane that I would help him with his mission, and I can't do that and serve here at the same time." She slipped her arm around Zhane's waist, "Even if Onyx is no longer a source of information, there is much that I can do."

Kai had known Karone had been on Onyx for a personal reason before the Saber showed up, but he'd never asked. He had his reasons for not talking about himself, and he had no problem giving her a similar courtesy unasked. Still, he couldn't help the unease and foreboding at the thought of there being such a dangerous enemy out and about. Especially the thought of war coming.

"Come on," Kendrix told Kai, "we need to go get ready for the party."

"Right," Kai said, "you go talk the cooks into food, and I'll meet up with you after I shower and get dressed."

"You aren't going to back out of this are you?" Kendrix asked him suspiciously.

Kai smiled down at her as they headed out of the clearing, "Of course not, Kendrix. I wouldn't do that to you, you know that."

Kendrix snorted a little, reminding Kai that yes, he had backed out of parties in the past, usually college ones where the hosts had a reputation for crazy parties. He had backed out because he wasn't the sort to enjoy wild parties, but he didn't think the Rangers would be the sort to get into those kinds of shindigs, even if Zhane had been positively gleeful at the thought of a party.

Of course, Kai should have known better than to think that the group's get together would be anything other than crazy. Between Damon's status as a young college student and Leo's tendency to get in trouble while  _sober,_  Kai figured they were lucky that the worst of what they did was in the ruins of Terra Venture.

It wasn't like he'd counted on the security system being broken. He honestly hadn't thought of it until he came into the command tent for his next shift to find shots of him and the other Rangers playing laser tag with their blasters on the main screen.


	9. Chapter 9

The people of Maya's village, Kanyo, were not the only people living on Mirinoi, which Kai found surprising. He wasn't sure why he was surprised either, because one village did not make a viable population. The other people of Mirinoi began arriving within a week of Terra Venture's crash landing, and the Galaxy Rangers were clearly the main draw.

"Uh oh," Kendrix announced, "someone's got his grumpy face on."

Kai glared at her briefly, then relaxed, "Sorry," he said, looking briefly at Leo and Damon, "I'm just getting tired of getting interrupted at work to play great defender."

"At least you have an excuse," Leo replied, "I think I've talked to someone from every village on the continent."

"Not quite," Kendrix replied, "just in this one part. Maya was telling me there was some discussion of asking us to do a bit of a tour."

Kai shook his head and headed to get a tray. With Terra Venture safely located on the planet now, it provided shelter to the numerous colonists while the work on the city they would one day inhabit continued. Kanyo had offered up a large field near the edge of their boundaries, a place where the city would not burden the needs of Kanyo with their own needs.

Tray in hand, Kai wandered back to the table, "Have the locals been giving you any specific trouble?" Damon asked.

"Not really," Kai replied, "I'm just getting tired of not being to get my work done for Stanton. Mike covers for me as best he can, but after almost eight weeks of getting called out of shift for Ranger business, the Commander's getting impatient."

"He's can't do anything about it?" Kendrix asked.

"The Council has told him to let me go," Kai replied. "Now that we're here, the Commander answers to the Council unless there's an obvious danger to the colony."

They fell silent as Kai picked up his fork and began to eat, wincing a little at how bad the food actually was. "Don't worry," Kendrix said, "I'm sure you'll have a kitchen of your own soon enough and can cook to your heart's content."

"Considering that Command has, um, volunteered to be the last to get housing," Kai muttered.

"Don't be sore," Mike said as he stepped into the tent, "you know why Commander Stanton made that decision."

"I'm not sore," Kai replied, "I'm just ready for some privacy for a change, and a chance to do my job."

Mike laughed and sat down beside Kendrix, "Well, we just had the last of the local natives come in, so hopefully you'll be back to work soon enough."

"I can hardly wait," Kai replied.

Three months later, Kai was half tempted to punch Mike. Instead, he found himself punching a group of strange looking creatures that seemed to be part of a pirate crew.

Apparently, Scorpious wasn't the only one who wanted to harness the power of the Quasar Sabers.

After routing the pirate group, the Rangers returned the swords to the stone and went back to their daily lives. At least, that's what Kai expected when he slid the saber home yet again. "Back to work," Damon said as he stepped away from his saber.

"You're telling me," Kai replied, "I've probably got paperwork avalanches around my desk."

"At least you have a desk," Kendrix retorted, "I'm lucky if I can claim two feet of space in the botany lab."

"But you work outside," Kai pointed out.

"Doesn't mean I don't occasionally need lab time," Kendrix said.

Leo draped his arm over Kai's shoulders, "Don't fight guys. Let's just get something to eat and check out the hot springs."

Kai ducked away from Leo's arm, "I need to brief Stanton, Leo; probably the council too. I'll eat later."

"Hey," Leo said, catching Kai's arm, "take care of yourself, ok? We need you."

Kai met Leo's eyes for a moment and nodded, "Don't worry about it, Leo. I'll be fine."

As he headed for the command center, which had been upgraded from a tent to a half built building, Kai reflected that Leo had been acted odd lately. The Red Ranger had taken to tracking him down at the end of his shift to present him with food, or seemed to know when Kai was heading to the training area, because he always showed up to spar. Kai secretly suspected Mike of supplying Leo with the information about his shifts at least. Although the elder Corbett roundly denied it, Kai felt that Mike thought Leo would be good for him, same as Kendrix did.

If not, then Mike just thought seeing Leo annoy Kai was amusing and just revenge for Kai's alleged role in trying to set Mike up with Maya. Kai wasn't involved in that little farce, that was Damon and Leo's show.

"Kai," Commander Stanton called as Kai stepped into the command center.

"Sir," Kai replied with a quick salute.

"Are the pirates gone?" Stanton asked.

"Routed thoroughly," Kai replied. "We ended up destroying three of their five ships before they surrendered and assisted in rescuing the survivors. Captain Zurgane has sworn to leave us be and retreated with their survivors. I got the impression that they were intending on spreading the word that Mirinoi has teeth now."

"You think that will be the last we see of them?" Stanton asked.

"I make no promises," Kai said as he walked to his desk, "but we did give them something to think about."

"I'll expect the full write up on my desk tomorrow," Stanton said, "other than that, you are dismissed for the day."

"Sir?" Kai asked, pausing in the act of pulling out his chair.

"Take a few days," Stanton said, "you've been working hard and you deserve a break. Just make sure I get that report."

"I can do my job," Kai began.

"I'm not saying you can't," Stanton countered. "I'm saying that you need to take a break, long enough for your bruises to heal. Besides, I wanted to see how Fredrick does with all that paperwork you've been doing. If he can fill out the G-859 and the H-20 without mistakes, you'll be getting some help."

Kai stared at Stanton, desperate to find a way to argue without getting in any more trouble. "With all due respect," he said.

"Mister Chin, this is an order. You will have four days off after you turn in your report."

Kai sighed, "Yes sir," he sat down. "I'll get right on that."

Reports weren't difficult to do Kai knew, they were simply long and redundant. At least with the conversion to paper-free reports on the subject of Ranger Reports, Kai didn't have to fill the forms out in triplicate, for Stanton, the Council, and the archives.

As soon as the report was done, Kai headed back to the section of the city where the Rangers had staked a claim. They were all staying in tents still, allowing the Mirinoian and Colonial construction crews to focus on putting up homes for the rest of the colony first. Even with the amount of material lost in the destruction of Terra Venture's primary storage bays, the different scientists and agricultural specialists had begun the task of preparing the city for the coming winter.

Although some of the civilians, soldiers and even a few curious Mirinoians had taken housing near the Rangers, there was a sense of isolation between the five Ranger tents and the rest of the city. This was why Kai was not expecting to dodge a group of builders and find the three of his teammates standing in the center of the tents having what appeared to be an argument with several of their neighbors looking on. "This is absolutely ridiculous!" Damon shouted.

Kai broke into a run, because if Damon was shouting, then Kendrix would be close to blowing her top as well. "What's going on?" He asked as he cut through the crowd.

Leo stood before Damon and Kendrix, looking wild eyed and bruised, "Trouble," he said shortly.

"Define trouble," Kai said, "is this Andros with a special mission trouble, or pirate trouble?"

"I don't know," Leo said, "something's been making Terra Venture's security alarms go off and on. Some of the cameras appear to be working on and off, and Peyta, one of the Mirinoian recruits, swears that she saw Trakheena on one of them."

"Except nobody else can find what she saw," Damon said, "and Trakheena was destroyed."

Kai looked at Kendrix, "What do you think?" Kai asked.

"I don't know," Kendrix replied, "computers aren't my strong point. You all saw Trakheena destroyed, though, I don't think anyone but a Ranger could have destroyed the destruction of a battlizer."

"Look," Leo said, "I just think we should head over to Terra Venture and check it out. It could be a ghost in the machine, and it could be a big problem. We won't know unless we go look."

Kai nodded, "I agree."

"But," Damon began.

"Damon," Kai said, "Nothing will be hurt if we just look into it."

"When can you clear your schedule?" Leo asked.

"Four day stand down," Kai replied, "Stanton's orders. I'd appreciate a night's sleep first though."

Leo nodded, "We can go tomorrow. Damon, can you come?"

Damon shook his head, "I've got to help with the backlog, Leo. Between my Ranger duties and having a rash of injuries, I can't justify more time just when I promised I'd help."

"I can get free," Kendrix said when Leo looked at her, "I need to wrap up a project tonight though."

"Maya went back to Kanyo," Leo said, "I'll head over there tonight to ask her to join us."

"Should we take the sabers?" Kai asked.

Leo shook his head, "No, we all have our morphers. I don't think we'll need the sabers' power boosts for a scouting run. Besides, if things go that bad, Damon and Mike both can retrieve the sabers for us."

Damon nodded, "A secondary force."

"Exactly," Leo replied. He gripped Damon's shoulder, "I don't want to believe she's back either, Damon, but we said we'd protect Terra Venture, and now Mirinoi. If we didn't check out all possible threats we'd be shirking that promise."

Damon nodded a little, "You're right."

Leo smiled a little as he let go of Damon's shoulder. "I'm on my way then, it's a long walk to Kanyo."

"Be careful," Kai said.

Leo grinned, "I'm always careful."


	10. Chapter 10

Kai woke up to a thunderstorm. For a moment, he wondered if the tents would leak under the onslaught, then he remembered that the meteorologists had said the skies would be clear for several days. “Just goes to show,” Kai muttered as he rolled out of bed and began to dress, “You can’t trust the weathermen.”

“KAI!” Kendrix shouted.

“What?” Kai called back, “I’m decent.”

Kendrix unzipped his tent, “There’s trouble on Terra Venture.”

“Trouble?” Kai repeated, checking that his morpher was in place, “What kind of trouble?”

“Leo sent a message by communicator,” Kendrix replied, “He was attacked on the way to Kanyo. He was able to get his sword and go after whoever attacked them, but he wanted to back up.”

The rain stopped and Kai went still, glancing up as if he could see through the cream colored fabric. Kendrix and Kai’s communicators went off and Kendrix activated hers, “Kendrix and Kai here,” she said nervously.

“It’s Leo.”

“Thank God, Leo, are you alright?”

“They left,” Leo replied, sounding like he was standing in a wind tunnel. “They went through a hyperspace tunnel.”

“How do you know that?” Kai asked, “Hyper tunnels can only be opened in space.”

“I’m following them,” Leo said. “They’re headed to Earth and they have Trakheena’s staff with them.”

“Leo,” Kai began, but the burst of static signaled that he’d already left. “Is he crazy?”

“He is a Power Ranger,” Kendrix said as the tent’s flap was shoved open, “Damon, did you hear that?”

“I did,” Damon replied, “What is Leo thinking?”

“He probably isn’t,” Kai muttered. “I’ll go see if Stanton’s awake.”

“Why?” Damon asked.

“We’re going after him, right?” Kai asked.

“Kai man,” Damon said, “what am I going to tell everyone?”

“You’re a Power Ranger,” Kai replied, “this is what we do.” He looked at Kendrix, “We need to take the Jet Jammers to get to Earth.”

“I can’t just go,” Kendrix protested, “this project…”

Kai closed his eyes, “Fine, make your excuses Damon, Kendrix, wrap up the project, let Stanton know we’re going after Leo. I’ll get Maya and we’ll leave now. Come as fast as you can as soon as you can, whatever Leo’s gotten himself mixed up in, we won’t let him fight alone.”

Kendrix nodded although she threw Kai an odd look at the same time, and then Damon nodded as well.

“Good,” Kai said, “I’ll see you two on Earth.”

Although the ground was damp from the brief, but heavy storm, Kai found that the Jet Jammers were completely dry. He figured that was a good thing, as he wasn’t patient enough to run from the colony to Kanyo. As he flew there, he wondered at the odd look Kendrix had given him. She wasn’t the sort to throw around long, meaningful looks, mostly because Kai tended to ignore them or misinterpret them.

He put that out of his mind as he landed at the edge of Kanyo, turning, instead, to identify the person coming out of the village. It was Peyta. “Ranger Kai,” the girl said, “is something wrong?”

Kai frowned, “Not really. I need to speak with Maya.”

“She is with the Teacher,” Peyta replied, “I will take you to them.”

“Thank you Peyta,” Kai replied.

Thankfully, the ‘Teacher’ had a home on the edge of the village close to the Quasar stone, meaning that they didn’t have to go through the whole village to get there. “Kai,” Maya said when Peyta let him into the house. “What are you doing here?”

Kai hesitated, “We have a problem. I need your help with something.”

“Of course,” Maya said, she smiled at the other woman, “I’ll be back later.”

“Be careful,” the woman replied.

Outside the house, Maya turned to him, “What is the problem?”

“Walk with me,” Kai requested, “I’d rather not alarm everyone.”

They headed for the stone quickly, “We are alone,” Maya finally observed.

Kai nodded. “For the past few days, there have been problems with the security on Terra Venture. Trainee Peyta swears at one point that she saw Trakheena on the monitors, but nobody could find it again. Leo was supposed to come tell you so that we could go check it out tonight.”

“But Leo is not here,” Maya said.

“He was attacked,” Kai replied. “We’re not sure by whom, but the message he sent back said that ‘they’ had taken Trakheena’s staff and were headed for Earth. Leo is currently following them.”

They found their way through the bushes enshrouding the stone, “And he’s taken his saber,” Kai continued.

“Why did he leave without us?” Maya asked.

“If I knew that,” Kai said, reaching for his saber, “I’d understand him a lot better than I do. I’m going after Leo right now. Damon and Kendrix can’t leave until tomorrow morning, but I’d like you to come with me now. Hopefully we can save Leo from himself and alert Earth to the incoming problem.”

Maya pulled out her saber, “Let’s go.”

It was dark, but Kai thought Maya gave him a long look as they waited on the Jet Jammers to answer their remote summons.

Perhaps all that could really be said about their trip back to Earth was that it was frustrating. One of the few highlights was that they did get to meet Earth’s newest Ranger team, the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers. Complete with a Green Ranger who had apparently already met Damon. “We need to talk about trips back to Earth,” Leo muttered to Damon as they prepared for their final confrontation with Trakheena.

“I didn’t really have a choice,” Damon replied.

“Besides,” Kai replied, “we really need to have a talk about heading off without talking to people, Leo.”

That shut Leo up long enough for them to get back to Mirinoi, and if Stanton had a few choice words on the matter, well, Kai only added that to the list of grievances he intended to bring up with Leo at the earliest opportunity.

Kendrix, however, struck first.

They were scouting Terra Venture, again, for signs of incursions when she trapped him in one of the surviving lower levels. “We need to talk.”

“What about?” Kai asked as he swept his flashlight over the dingy walls.

“About you, and Leo,” Kendrix replied.

“Jesus, Kendrix,” Kai said, flipping his light at her for a moment, “You’re starting to sound like a broken record.”

“And you are ignoring what’s going on right in front of you.”

“What am I ignoring, exactly?” Kai asked.

“Your feelings for Leo.”

“For the hundred millionth time, I’m not ignoring them, I’m just not acting on them.”

“You’re not acting on them towards Leo, maybe, but that’s the only thing.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Look how fast you took off after him when Leo was attacked.”

“He’s my teammate, we’re supposed to look out for each other.”

“Not like that, not when you run roughshod over everyone.”

Kai glared at Kendrix in the dim light of their flashlights, “Are you saying I was too harsh? That I should have waited to go after Leo?”

“I’m saying if you’d admit to Leo that you care about him,” Kendrix began.

“Not happening,” Kai cut her off.

“Why not? For Heaven’s sake.”

“Why not?” Kai interrupted her again, “Because as soon as Leo finds out that I’m in love with him, he’ll have to decide what to do about it. Right now, he doesn’t know. He might suspect, or guess, but until one of us says something about it we can ignore it without hurting each other. Understand this, yes, I love Leo. No, I’m not going to tell him.”

He would have said more, but a thud from down the hall made them both jump.

Leo lay further down the hallway, half in and out of what looked like a cross corridor, looking utterly stunned.

 


	11. Chapter 11

There were moments when Kai’s mind just went still, whatever racing thoughts he’d normally had would fade away in the face of something that just made him stop. He kind of liked those moments, they were calming. This was not that moment. Kai’s mind blanked in the manner of a blue screen of death. He stared at Leo, who looked just as stunned.

The sound of Kendrix’s morpher going off shook Kai out of his shock. “This is Kendrix,” Kendrix said, “Kai and Leo is here with me.”

“This is Damon,” Damon said over the morpher. “I think you need to come and look at this.”

“What is it?” Kendrix asked.

“It looks like a cocoon of some sort. It’s slimy and glowing. Maya and I haven’t touched anything but it’s really creepy.” Damon replied.

“Where are you?” Kendrix asked as Leo scrambled up and came over.

“We’re just west of the command tower, just off the plaza where Leo exploded the battelizer.” Damon replied.

“We’re on our way,” Leo said.

The three Rangers took off at a run out of the building they’d been exploring and heading for the plaza where Damon and Maya were waiting.

Maya was standing in the plaza when they arrived, “It’s this way,” she told them and headed through one of the shops.

The building they ended up at was, as Kai recalled, a science outpost for the astrophysicists. Damon was pacing the ground floor, “Finally,” he said.

“We could have walked,” Leo said, breathing heavily. “What did you find?”

“This way,” Damon said and led the way to a door.

If Kai had a nightmare, that room would have been the centerpiece of the montage. The cocoon was in the center of the room, a hideous gold and black column that had black roots sprawled across the floor and more were sprawled across the ceiling with the tips hanging down. The column was glowing, pulsing even.

“Whoa,” Kendrix said, slipping past Kai.

“Wait,” Leo said, reaching for Kendrix’s shoulder. “Let’s get some more scientists out here. Kendrix, I know you’re our scientist, but I don’t think we should just touch it at random.” He glanced at Kai, “We need to inform Commander Stanton of our discovery, and I don’t want this thing to be left alone. I’d really feel better if we had a morphed Ranger in this room any time the scientists are in here until we know what this is and if it’s a danger to our people. Kendrix, I hate to say this, but you need to be either a scientist or a Ranger on this one. If you’re a scientist, you’ll be focused on discovering what this about, but if you’re a Ranger, your job is to guard and protect. Can you draw that line for me?”

Kendrix hesitated, and then nodded once, firmly, “I can do that.”

Leo smiled, “Thank you. Now, Kendrix, Kai, why don’t you two go make that report. Damon, I’d appreciate it if you would stand guard inside, morphed.”

Damon nodded and touched his morpher, “Go Galactic.”

Kai blinked against the light, “Feel better?” Leo asked dryly.

“A bit,” Damon said, “Now, if something happens, I can hit back easier.”

Leo glanced at Kai and Kendrix and frowned, but turned to Maya instead, “Do you want to wait here with Damon or go out to the plaza? I’m thinking it would make a good base camp for this.”

“I will wait here,” Maya replied.

Kai caught Kendrix’s arm and gestured toward the door. Once outside, Kendrix shook her head, “Sorry, that thing is unnerving.”

“I agree,” Kai said, “I wonder what it’s for. Let’s get the Jet Jammers.”

Of course, Commander Stanton was not happy when Kai strode into the newly completed command center; he was, in fact, giving a dressing down to the communications officer and his subordinate. Kai stood next to Mike’s desk and waited to be noticed.

“Please tell me its good news?” Mike murmured without looking up.

“Not really,” Kai replied.

Commander Stanton turned and saw him, “Mister Chin, are you done with your survey of Terra Venture?”

Kai winced a little, “Not entirely Commander Stanton. The Rangers have discovered something unusual. Leo has sent for a science team to study the object and requested that I report to you.”

“Define unusual,” Commander Stanton said as he approached Kai.

“It is an organic structure of unknown origin resembling a column in a cave. It contains what appears to be a bioluminescence and it projects an unsettling aura,” Kai replied.  “It is located on Terra Venture in one of the small buildings in the three block radius of the tower. Leo requests a science team to determine the nature of the structure, and I believe we would benefit from having a security team dispatched. For the time being, Leo has ordered a morphed Ranger presence inside the room at all times.”

Commander Stanton nodded, and glanced at Mike, “Put together a security team for the Rangers, Corbett. I want you to personally liaise with the Rangers on this.”

“Yes sir,” Mike said with a quick salute as he stood up.

Kai followed Mike out of the command center, “Hey Mike,” Kai said.

“Yeah?” Mike asked, turning back to Kai.

“Whatever that thing is, we all felt weird about it,” Kai said, “I’ve got a feeling that this is going to get nasty but nothing concrete.”

“I get that,” Mike said, “I’ll make sure the guys I bring aren’t inclined to goof off.”

“Thanks,” Kai said, “Leo didn’t really say anything about security, but we can’t guard that thing forever. Not to mention the scientists are probably going to want to camp out over there if that thing proves interesting to them and there’s only five Rangers.”

“Won’t Kendrix be part of the science team?” Mike asked.

“Leo told her up front, she’s either in that room as a scientist or a Ranger, she can’t do both, not with how this makes us all feel.” Kai hesitated, “There’s something else.”

“What?” Mike said.

“It’s not, it’s a personal thing,” Kai said. “You’ve heard Kendrix go on about me and Leo, right?”

Mike coughed, “I try not to think about that, really.”

“Well, Leo may or may not have heard me admit my feelings on the matter,” Kai admitted. “Damon called us about this discovery of his before anything was settled. I just, if Leo says anything to you.” Kai trailed off, not entirely certain why he was even telling Mike all of this.

“If Leo chooses to confide in me,” Mike said, “I’ll listen, and I’ll remind him that just because you care for him that doesn’t mean you want to sleep with him.” He stopped and looked at Kai, “You don’t, do you?”

“No!” Kai said, and took a deep breath, “No, of course not.” He resisted the urge to glare at Mike, because they’d had this conversation before, back when he’d first explained things to Mike and he had been sure that Mike understood what he’d been talking about.

“Ok,” Mike held up his hands, “just checking. Listen, I’m going to go get that security detail, you let Leo know we’re coming.”

“Right,” Kai said, “I’ll see you at Terra Venture.”

 


	12. Chapter 12

“I understand that you’re avoiding Leo.”

Kai glanced at Mike, “I guess you could look at it that way.  You could also look at it as doing my job.  I have a lot to do, between doing the Defense paperwork, pulling my guard shifts, training, ranger training, and those meet and greets that Colonel Stanton and the council insists that we handled with the Mirinoians.  Not avoiding the leader of my team, my friend, and your brother, not everything is a conspiracy Mike.”

“Yes but you have been making yourself pretty scarce.  I’m not the only one who thinks that you have been avoiding Leo.  Kendrix is getting worried, not that she’d say anything to you given your history of avoiding her when she tries to talk to you about your emotional state.  Damon and Maya are staying out of it because Damon doesn’t want to get between any of you in a fight, and Maya, while willing to listen to you, doesn’t want you to felt pressured to talk to her.” Mike leaned against Kai’s desk and crossed his arms as he looked down at the blue ranger.  

“Look,” Kai said, “I get that I haven’t talked to Leo first few weeks, but that happens when we’re busy.  I don’t have any reason to avoid Leo, no matter what Kendrix, Damon, Maya, Leo, or that crazy guy in the psychology department who thinks he knows about Rangers has to say.  Really Mike, what do you think is going on?”

“That I don’t know, Kai,” Mike replied, “because everybody says it’s not really my business, but they are all worried about you.  I don’t care what you think Leo did, but you need to work it out before your adoring public figures out that something is wrong.”

“There is nothing wrong, Mike!” Kai jumped to his feet and slammed his hands down on the desk.

Mike held up his hands calmingly, “I’m not saying that there is something wrong Kai, but if there’s nothing wrong, then why are you so defensive?” Kai watched as Mike walked away, he noticed that people were staring at him.  He glared at them half heartedly then glanced down at this paperwork; it was done so he signed it and put it away in its folder.

The truth was, Kai was avoiding Leo. It was like he’d told Kendrix. Now that Leo was aware of his feelings, there was a responsibility to do something about them, and Kai didn’t think that Leo would appreciate having to adjust himself to Kai’s feelings. Kai was not, however, avoiding Kendrix. It was simply that Kendrix was busy helping the scientists with the cocoon found on Terra Venture, especially after Maya and her people had affirmed that such a structure was not found on Mirinoi. Kai took his shifts as a guard seriously, he didn’t open himself to chatter and Kendrix had seemed to have understood that. The fact that Kai had ensured that his guard shifts follow Leo’s, so that they would never have the kind of time necessary to talk, was deliberate too.

Of course, Leo, being Leo, cheated.

The builders had finally managed to throw up some two room huts for the Rangers as opposed to their barely adequate huts. The five Rangers huts were placed in a pentagon, with an open courtyard in the center with a fire pit, a table, and some comfortable lounge chairs. When Kai stepped out of his house, he found Leo waiting for him with two mugs of coffee. “Good morning,” Leo said.

“Good morning,” Kai managed. “Aren’t you on guard duty?”

“Traded with Damon,” Leo replied, he gestured to the cup “have some coffee. We need to talk.”

Kai accepted the mug, but he didn’t sit down, “I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”

“Well, neither did I,” Leo said, “until I heard you tell Kendrix that you love me and proceeded to avoid me once you realized that I had heard you.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Kai said.

“Look, Kai,” Leo said, “nothing’s going to get settled if you avoid me. You said it yourself, now that I know, we have to talk about this.”

“No we don’t,” Kai replied, “nothing has to change.”

“It’s already changed,” Leo replied. “Kai, sit down. I’m not going to bite you.”

Kai sipped his coffee and stared at Leo.

“Look,” Leo said, “I was surprised when you said you loved me. That’s on me. I forgot that just because you don’t have sex doesn’t mean that you don’t love. Kendrix had to set me straight.”

Kai gripped his mug and forced himself to not bang his head on the table, “Look, Leo, the facts of the matter are that I am asexual, and you’re not. I don’t want to discuss this; I don’t want you to feel obligated towards me, or anything like that. All I want is your friendship, and I don’t want you to act different around me.”

“Kai,” Leo said.

“Leo,” Kai snapped, “it’s just like with Kendrix. She wants something in a relationship that I can’t give her and it wasn’t fair to either of us to try to force a relationship. There’s nothing to talk about here.” He set his mug down and turned.

“Kai Chin, sit your ass down,” Leo said firmly, “and shut up.”

Kai froze for a moment and weighed his options. He couldn’t see any way out of this without irrevocably damaging his relationship with Leo, if not the rest of the team. He turned back around slowly and sat down at the table, staring at the half-full coffee mug.

“Thank you,” Leo said in a softer tone. “Now then, Kai, I want to start with this, whatever happens between us today or any day in the future, it will not affect the team. I know this because you are a professional and so am I. Secondly; I respect your arguments for not being in a relationship. You’ve had plenty of experience in how badly a relationship could turn out, and that’s understandable. What I do not understand, respect, or accept, is your apparent belief that I can’t comprehend what asexual means, your belief that sexual attraction would destroy a relationship with me, or your belief that you can predict how my emotional state will change if a relationship between us were to happen. You can be skeptical about it, but I’d like to think I know myself better than you do.” Leo held his hand up before Kai could do more than open his mouth. “I can’t sit here and tell you that I love you. I’ve never considered how I felt for you beyond admiring your skills as a fighter, your confidence, and your absolutely certainty of self, but I do know you are one of the people I’m closest to in the colony and you are very likely my best friend. I’m willing to see if there’s something more, if sex would be the big problem you seem to think it is, or if we could actually be something.”

Leo tilted his head a little, “It’s actually a little insulting that you think you can dictate my feelings, opinions, and how I choose to live my life.”

Kai stood up, “Leo, you’re my best friend.  I don’t want to lose that, which is why I don’t want a romantic relationship.  What we have is so important, I don’t want to throw it away on something that could be nothing more than a pipe dream.”

Leo shook his head, “That’s why we’re different, I’m not afraid.”

Kai walked away; there really wasn’t anything he could say to that.  They both knew he’d be lying. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Step One: Do nice things. Don't Get Caught.

Kai was not stupid. He was not going crazy. He was not imagining things.

About two weeks after he’d walked away from Leo, not willing to continue their discussion on the merits of a romantic relationship, it started.

There had been a fresh cup of coffee waiting when he got up, at the perfect temperature, and with the perfect amount of cream and sugar.

Someone had organized his desk in Command while he was standing guard over the cocoon.

And there were meals waiting when he got back to what was becoming known as the Ranger Compound, usually warm and always good.

It was annoying, but thoughtful, and Kai wondered who would think to do such things for him. He didn’t think it was Leo, because the other Ranger had taken to avoiding him except for some sad, lingering looks when they had to be in the same visual area. He didn’t think it was Kendrix, because Kendrix had been distracted by a plant Maya had brought her that had beans that looked like coffee beans. Between studying the plant, her part in the scientific study of the cocoon and guard duty, Kendrix tended to fall into bed as soon as she was off duty and slept straight through until someone got her out of bed.

Damon was working on a hydroelectric plant with some engineers he had befriended, and was often busy with them. He’d managed to make it on time to his guard duties, but Kai suspected it was only a matter of time before their green ranger was reclaimed by the engineers.

Besides finding new native plants for Kendrix to make dying whale noises over, Maya was getting more involved with the diplomatic side of things, helping the colonists and Mirinoians work out their differences without more than a few raised voices. She was rather good at helping them find ways to deal with their cultural and moral differences.

As for Kai, he was helping Command transition to a completely paperless system, a task that was tedious but necessary, given the possibility of running out of paper, based on how many trees that had been destroyed when Terra Venture crashed. Between that, arranging for daily training with his teammates, and doing reports for Command on the rangers’ activities, Kai was busy. There weren’t any more murmurs about having Mike take over the ranger liaison position, leaving Kai to his own devices. Perhaps the day would come when the Rangers would only have hobbies to pursue, but Kai hoped that day was many years in coming.

Of course even the Rangers got days off, and finally, a day when their only duty was to keep an eye on the cocoon.

It was finally Spring, and while Leo was standing guard over the cocoon, Kai and the others had lit a fire in their fire pit and were enjoying the cool evening air.

“Terra Venture’s first baby was born today,” Kendrix announced, “her mother named her Karone.”

“That’s sweet,” Maya said, “I will mention it to Karone when next we speak.” She hesitated, “I am not sure I understand why there have been no babies before though.”

“Population control,” Kai said, “we want to make sure that we can take care of any new babies before they’re born. All the colonists are willingly taking measures to prevent unexpected pregnancies in light of our limited resources. Although we originally intended to start allowing for pregnancies as soon as our first crops were in the ground, with so much destroyed by the crash it was agreed that it was better for all that we wait.”

“Given that the first of the shipment of agricultural necessities has finally arrived,” Kendrix added, “we can open the Beta site that was negotiated last year to create more food.”

“But my people have been willing to help,” Maya said.

“Which we are all grateful for,” Kai said, “but Terra Venture was always meant to be a self-sufficient, self-sustaining colony, and her people were chosen because they had that attitude. None of us are the sort who approve of being beholden to anyone.”

“I still can’t believe Earth tried to foist more colonists on us,” Damon said, “Ramon was complaining because he heard that some of the people they wanted us to take were criminals.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time a government has founded a colony based on criminal offense,” Kai replied as he stood up, “Does anyone want anything? I want to get some water.”

“Me too please?” Kendrix asked as Damon and Maya both shook their heads.

“May I ask something,” Maya said as Kai fixed the two drinks.

“Sure, what’s up?” Kendrix asked.

“I was wondering if it was law, custom, or tradition that mandates only two parents among your people. I thought I had simply not seen larger family groups.” Maya said.

Kendrix hummed thoughtfully for a moment, “Well, it depends on what you mean by large family groups, Maya.”

“I mean a family that consists of three or more parents who have several children, not only their own, but often adopted children as well,” Maya replied. “Such groups are not common in my village, but we do have one such family group, and other villages have three or even four. They often have taken in orphans from the village as well as any of their own children.”

“It’s not illegal,” Kendrix said, “but it’s not a common way of life. I know there are places where family groups such as you suggest are common, encouraged, or even the way of life, but there are not many of those people amongst the colonists. Most of the colonists are from the same religious background, so they all agree on things like a family consists of a mother and a father and their children. I know when the charter was written, it was specifically stated that the number or gender of partners could not be dictated or discriminated against, and the colonists were screened to being open about such relationships, but at the moment, people are sticking to what they know.”

Kai brought Kendrix her glass and sat back down, “Is this a problem?” He asked, “Should I mention it to the commander?”

“No,” Maya said, “I think I understand well enough to explain, or I shall direct them to Kendrix for more explanation.”

Kendrix smiled, “I’m happy to help, although I think our sociologist might be a better choice for this.”

“I didn’t know that we were legally allowed to have a threesome,” Damon commented, “that’s interesting.”

“Why do I get the feeling I’ve missed something?”

The Rangers jumped as Mike came through the gate into the center compound.

“Hi Mike,” Kendrix said with a wave, “We were just talking about multiple partners and cultural differences between Mirinoians and us.”

“I see,” Mike said, “I remember when Commander Stanton was dealing with that part of the charter. I don’t think he was too happy about it at first, but then he overheard one of Kai’s speeches on asexuality and the importance of informed consent, and why ignorance was, in fact, a crime because ignorance was a driving force behind hate crimes.”

Kai felt his cheeks grow warm, because he did remember those speeches, usually a response to a homophobic or racist slur.

“That speech was why they instituted mandatory screening for more flexible minds in terms of sexuality and sexual acts.” Mike continued as he took a seat.

“Huh,” Damon said, “that actually clears something up for me, thanks Mike.”

“Not a problem,” Mike replied.

“Hopefully,” Kendrix said, “we’ll see some adaptation of Mirinoian customs which will allow that transition to happen naturally. I mean, there are some couples who have been trying out the courting rituals to some success.”

“Courting rituals?” Kai replied, noting how tense the team suddenly looked.

Kendrix shrugged, “One of the scientists I work with is trying to court one of the agronomists. He decided to use the Mirinoian custom as part of an experiment, and partly just because he could, I think.”

“Oh,” Kai replied, “I’d be interested in hearing how that works for him.”

Kendrix smiled, “I’ll be sure to keep you posted.”

“Speaking of courting,” Damon said, “has anyone else heard that Barbara Hinton from the veterinary section has set her cap for Commander Stanton?”

“You’re kidding,” Kendrix said, “when did this start?”

Kai sipped his water and watched as Damon regaled the group with his gossip, wondering if he’d imagine everyone’s reaction to Kendrix’s seemingly idle comment. Then he wondered if it would be worth it to question his new assistant, one of the Mirinoian interns, on their courting customs.

 


	14. Chapter 14

The mysterious and random acts of kindness continued for another week before Kai managed to corner his intern/assistant Hannali.  It was frustrating because Kai knew that there were not a lot of people who would do this, and he thought he knew exactly who was behind it.  He just needed to confirm something with Hannali before he confronted his suspect.   Unfortunately, nobody wanted him to talk to Hannali about Mirinoi courtship rituals. At first, Kai had not been sure, but eventually he had to admit the truth.

It started when Kai found a cup of perfectly blended, warm coffee on his desk when he came in.  “Good morning Hannali,” Kai said as he started sorting the mail.

“Good morning Mister Chin,” Hannali said hugging a folder to his chest.

“Morning files?”  Kai asked.

Hannali glanced down and jumped, “Yes sir,” he said, putting the folder on Kai’s desk.

“Thank you,” Kai said, he reached for the coffee, “Did you fix this?”

“No sir,” Hannali replied.  The sixteen year old gave Kai a small smirk, “I was banned from the coffee machine after the honey incident”.

Kai nodded and sipped the coffee, “Then you might know just who left me a cup of coffee, perfectly blended and at the optimum drinking temperature?”

Hannali’s smirk vanished instantly, “I can’t say sir,” he said, looking at Kai’s desk.

“I just want to know if,” Kai began.

“Excuse me Kai,” Mike said as he entered the small office that had been set aside for Kai’s use.

“Yes Mike?”  Kai asked, “I haven’t gone over the files just yet, but I will.”

“That’s not,” Mike began, “it’s something else, Kai.”  He offered a tablet to Kai, “I know you guys have been fighting this tooth and nail, but there’s been a compromise on the subject of the compound.”

“What sort of compromise?”  Kai asked, taking the tablet.

“They think you guys should have something, well, grander,” Mike said, “and I know you all wish you have things added.  This is a compromise in two parts.”

Kai studied the blueprint before him, “All right, I’m listening.”

“First, they want you guys to do the design work to expand and update the compound you have now.  They will not start building until after the last of the other work is done, however.  Leo thinks you should all agree.  They’re going to build something grander either way, this way you can make sure that things like a training area and communal living spaces are in there instead of whatever the council thinks you should have.”

Kai sighed, and put the tablet down, “I’ll work on it later, Mike.  For now, I want to think about it.”

Mike smiled, “Thanks for that.”  He nodded to Hannali and left.

“Sir,” Hannali said hesitantly.

“Yes?”  Kai asked as he picked up one of the files on his desk.

“Why do you not accept the accolades of your council?  They want to honor you, do they not?”

Kai sighed, “They do, but Hannali; we didn’t become Rangers and protect Terra Venture for the honor and accolades.  We did it because it was the right thing to do.”

Kendrix burst into the office, a mug in hand, “Are you busy, Kai?  Of course you’re not, try this.”  She shoved the mug at Kai.

Kai took the mug before Kendrix could spill it, “Good morning Kendrix, how are you today?”

“I’m fine, try it!”  Kendrix said.  “I promise, it won’t kill you, but you have to try it.”

Kai sighed and sipped the dark, steaming liquid.  He considered it for a moment before swallowing it.  “It’s ok,” he said, “needs a little cream and sugar.  I thought the coffee plants weren’t growing?”

“It’s not coffee,” Kendrix said with a proud smile.  “It’s a native plant that Maya showed me.”

“That plant you were making dying whale noises over?”  Kai asked, taking a second drink.

“I’m not sure that’s the word I’d choose,” Kendrix said, “but yet.”

“You sounded like a dying whale,” Kai told her, “this is fact.”

The lights flickered and then went out.  Kai closed his eyes, against the darkness.  When he opened them, the scattered emergency lights were on.  “Oh come on,” Kendrix said as she looked around.

“Someone doesn’t want me to work today,” Kai announced as he carefully put the mug on his desk.  “Hannali, if anyone comes looking for me, I stepped out and you don’t know where I am or when I’ll be back.”

“Yes Mister Chin,” Hannali replied.

“Kai Chin, are you cutting work?”  Kendrix demanded.

Kai chuckled and stood up, “Only in that I cannot see to do my work here.”  He eased around the desk and slipped past Kendrix.  “I’m going to drop by the compound and then find a nice patch of sunlight to do some work.”

“By the compound?”  Kendrix repeated.

“Yes,” Kai said, “I want to change into something that’s a little more forgiving to grass stains.”

“Ok,” Kendrix said.

“Later,” Kai replied.

He pretended he did not hear Kendrix mutter, “It’ll serve him right to get caught.”

As he exited the command building, Kai spotted Damon parking his jet jammer near the area the engineers were using.  “What happened to the lights?”  He called to Damon.

“Miscalculation,” Damon replied, “we’ll have them back up soon.”

“Ok,” Kai said with a wave.

He hurried through the compound, absently noting the number of people going about their business despite what was clearly a large-scale power outage. It was not the first time, and given the way the engineers were acting, it would not be the last time they lost power before the hydroelectric plant was completed.

The compound was dark, which did not surprise Kai, and he was already planning the clothes he meant to change into when he entered the front gate.

The crash of broken pottery pulled Kai from his thoughts.  Leo was standing in the kitchen, standing between the sink and the stove, which had several pots on it.  Kai sniffed, “That smells good,” he told Leo, “but it’ll burn if you leave it too long.”

“I was just getting a broom,” Leo said, watching him.

Kai headed across the compound to his own rooms with a faint smile.  He had suspected for a while that Leo was a decent, if not good cook, this was proof, and confirmed his theory.  After opening his door, Kai turned to Leo, “And Leo?  While I appreciate everything you have been up to lately, I strongly request that you reconsider your tactics.  A perfect cup of coffee makes you a friend; still just a friend.”

 


	15. Chapter 15

Kai enjoyed being able to walk to work, it was always interesting to see what was going on in the city after spending half the night guarding the cocoon on Terra Venture. There were always new things to see, from the first business someone had opened, a tailor shop, to the latest horticulture experiments. It was late enough in the morning that many people were already out at their jobs, but there were enough people around that the city did not feel deserted.

The command building had changed a lot, with the lack of actual attacks, the building, easily the largest built, was transitioning over into the civil government's control while many of the soldiers were beginning to disperse to their secondary jobs, leaving the trained law enforcement experts to form the core of the planetary defense.

Kai still had an office in the building, although his office had moved around every time they restructured the building's purpose. Although he had been told this was his last move, Kai had his doubts. The office was on the second story, with windows even, and had been painted a light blue, the furniture within was the result of the colony's furniture maker collaborating with Kanyo's woodworkers to create furniture that was sustainable, functional art.

Hannali even had a desk of his own, situated in the entrance to Kai's office, another of the beautiful desks, with more drawers and files behind it.

Kai was not entirely sure that Hannali actually needed all of his files, but the young man had asked and Kai had made it happened. He suspected that Hannali kept a copy of every piece of paper that Kai handled as part of his work. He was not technically part of the defense command structure anymore, but he still had to write reports on the Rangers' activity and pass on any contact they had with the outside world. Andros and the Astros had presented them with a communications satellite system that enabled them to contact the galactic society as well as a comm. system for the Rangers' personal use.

It was useful for them to be able to keep up on things like that pirate, Zurgane, and the war with Grumm, but Kai thought that the Earthian Rangers where a little upset that they accepted those gifts. However, TJ had told him about the uneasy relationship between the Earthian Rangers and the Astros after Astronema's Invasion, so he chalked their attitude up to the Astros having stolen a march on them.

"Good morning, Kai," Hannali said with a shy smile.

"Good morning, Hannali," Kai said. "Everything quiet this morning?"

"Yes sir," Hannali said, "mostly it's just been some excitement over finding another still in the barracks. Mister Mike told me that Commander Stanton and the Council were going to put pressure on the brewers to get their stills going before someone else gets alcohol poisoning."

Kai shook his head slightly, "It's amazing what people will do, after the 'medical marijuana' incident, you'd think they'd figure out that waiting could be a good thing."

"Yes sir," Hannali replied, "I put the overnight correspondence on your desk."

Kai smiled and let himself into his office. The mail was in the center of the desk, and on top of it was a single, blue flower. Kai frowned and picked it up. He had seen the flower in the jungle before, and he could admit it was beautiful, but there was no reason for there to be a flower in his office.

The blue flower looked like a rose save for the petals. The outside of the petals were a deep blue, but the inside, while blue, faded from the deep blue to an almost white color in its heart. Kai sniffed its delicate scent for a moment before stepping back outside, "Hannali, would you bring me a glass of water please?"

"Yes sir," Hannali said.

Once the flower was in its vase on the corner of his desk, Kai settled in for a morning of work.

/…\\\\\

The day after Kai threw away the now-dead flower, he came back to his house to find a pitcher filled with the blue roses. "They're pretty," Kendrix said as she followed him in.

"They're all right," Kai replied.

"You don't like the flowers?" Kendrix asked, surprised, "I thought you had one on your desk."

"Exactly, I had one," Kai replied as he began rummaging through his kitchen. "One flower, presented on occasion is a nice surprise, maybe even romantic. A bouquet is an entirely different thing. It's messier, and they don't all die at the same time, and honestly, I'd rather just get a plant."

"A plant," Kendrix said. She gave him a confused look, "Why a plant?"

"Because if it's a perennial, I can enjoy it as long as I remember to water it, and if it's an annual, I'll have most of a year of beauty instead of a week. I like things that last," Kai explained. He pulled the last of the ingredients he had been look for out of his cabinets and set them on a tray, "Now, if you really want me to make you cinnamon-oatmeal-raisin bread, we're going to need the big kitchen."

"Kai, you know very well I would kill for your bread," Kendrix said as she stepped away from the flowers, "Are you going to keep the flowers?"

"No sense in letting them go to waste before they're brown," Kai replied.

/…\\\\\

Kai met Damon on his way back from another guard shift, "Back from the outlier farms then?" Kai asked as they met outside the compound.

"Yeah," Damon said, "all the buildings are wired and set up with solar and hydro-electric power. No more fossil fuels anywhere."

"What's next on the agenda then?" Kai asked as they adjusted their course to walk beside each other.

"Stanton wants electric vehicles," Damon said, "like mopeds or something, for the LEOs. Besides that, I've been invited to attending a mechanical engineering course on KO-35, something about building ground and air transports that looks like it could be something we need here."

Kai nodded, "Are you thinking about going?"

"Stanton suggested I consider it," Damon said as he pushed open the compound gate, "I just don't."

Kai leaned around Damon to see what had caught his attention. His first thought was blue. Then, as he slid past Damon and into the compound's courtyard, he understood what had happened.  _Someone_  had replaced the collection of plants that Kendrix and Maya were studying in the raised flowerbeds with more of the blue flowers. In fact, every bed in the courtyard had been filled so that the courtyard was a sea of blue.

"Kai man," Damon said, sounding like he was trying either not to laugh or cry, "Really, just, stop challenging him."


	16. Chapter 16

The thing about trying to talk your teammate into not courting you anymore was that it was difficult when said teammate was avoiding you. Kai had spent almost two weeks trying to pin Leo down long enough to tell him to stop, but the red ranger was slippery. After all the flowerbeds had been replanted, Leo had practically moved back to Terra Venture, working with the scientists to study the cocoon they had found.

It was not that Kai did not appreciate what Leo was doing; he could tell that Leo did care for him a great deal. It was that Kai really did not want his friend to feel trapped in a relationship that was not everything he deserved.

Kai was amused that of all the Rangers, Mike was the only one who openly agreed with his arguments. He suspected it was in part because Mike felt responsible for Leo as his older brother and did not want him hurt, and in part, that Mike did not want anyone to date his baby brother as a desperate attempt to admit that they were all growing older.

Damon refused to listen at all, saying it was not his place to get involved, and Kendrix and Maya regarded the whole thing with amusement. As if, his love life was some public spectacle, a play for their entertainment.

That was one of the things that made Kai the most annoyed, when he overheard Kendrix and Maya giggling about the whole thing. He could admit that the flowers were funny, but that did not give them free reign to laugh about it continuously.

Things changed abruptly one night, as Kai was getting ready for bed. He had just sat down on his bed when a horrid sound ripped through the night.

For a long moment, Kai thought that the noise was from some dying creature, but then he realized that he was hearing  _words_  in the noise. He could not really understand the words, but he could hear them. Kai stood up and hurried over to the window that overlooked the outside of the compound. Leo was standing there, holding a single blue flower, singing.

Kai wrinkled his lip slightly and pulled back, heading into his kitchen quickly. He yanked out a large soup pot before stalking into the courtyard. Damon was sitting outside, hands to his ears, "I'll take care of this," Kai snarled at Damon, who stared at him. "I'm just going to need a little help."

He stuck the pot under the garden faucet and viciously turned the water on. When it was mostly full, Kai turned the water back off. "When I get on the roof, give me that pot," he told Damon as he set the pot down on the table.

Damon nodded, a slow grin spreading across his face. Kai spun, took some running steps, then climbed, using the base to one of the flowerbeds to get to the half wall of the kitchen, which enabled him to roll on top of the awning over the kitchen. "Pot," Damon announced.

Kai pulled the pot up and set it on the actual roof of the compound. He boosted himself up and headed towards the outer wall, pot in hand. As he got closer, he could see that the neighbors had turned their lights on, which meant that this insanity was going to be shared everywhere in the morning.

Kai snarled quietly, glanced over the edge of the roof long enough to find Leo, and then dumped the pot of cold water on his head.

Silence descended.

Smirking, Kai walked back across the roof, tossed pot down to the waiting Damon and climbed back down. "Sorry about that, Damon," Kai said, taking his pot back.

Damon grinned, "That was awesome Kai. You should talk to him though."

"I'm going to try." Kai replied before heading back to bed.

...

The next morning found Kai standing in Leo's living room, waiting for the Red Ranger to get up.

It was worth it, because Leo stumbled into the living room, looked at him, headed for the kitchen, then stopped and spun around.

"Have a good night last night?" Kai asked.

"Uh, sort of," Leo said, blinking at him, "Kai, what are you doing here?"

"This needs to stop," Kai said.

"What?" Leo asked.

"This, you trying to court me, it has to stop. I told you before, I don't want to be with you," Kai said.

"No, you said that you couldn't give me what I wanted," Leo said, his eyes beginning to focus, "you said that being with you would hurt me. You gave me reasons why this would not work. This is the first time you said you didn't want this."

"I can't give you that," Kai said.

"What?" Leo asked, "A hug? A kiss on the cheek? Kai, I touch you on the shoulder and you act as if I have branded you. You have changed since we got to Mirinoi and decided you were too afraid to be around me. Sometimes it feels like you have been so caught up in being what you think you have to be that you are not Kai. I see you sometimes, just smiling because a woman is planting flowers, and then you turn around and call them experiments. Last night, you  _climbed a building_  to dump water on my head, and today, you act like I'm some stranger who hit on you in a bar. Even Kendrix says you are acting different, and Kendrix won't hear a word against you, no matter what. I didn't notice when we were on Terra Venture, I'll admit, but we got here, and it was like you were using every excuse to avoid me. I missed my friend, Kai. That's when I realized that I liked you as more than a friend. When you came after me and Trakheena on Earth, that's when I realized I loved you. When you told Kendrix you loved me, I couldn't figure out if it was a good thing or a bad. When you decided that it wasn't worth it for us to try anything, it was like you ripped my heart from my chest and told me it wasn't good enough."

Kai stared at Leo, trying to think of something to say. "Kendrix," he began.

"I'm  _not_  Kendrix, Kai," Leo said, almost shouting. He cleared his throat, "I'm not Kendrix. She loves you, did you know that? She won't try for anything because of those things you said that you wouldn't date her. It's like you get so caught up in how  _you'll_  be hurt, that you don't see that you're already hurting us." Leo smiled as he began to walk forward, "You're very easy to love, Kai, do you even know?"

Kai backed up, his heart pounding in his ears. This wasn't supposed to be like this, Leo was supposed to stop. "Please," he whispered.

Leo stopped moving, "Kai, I don't want to lose you. You're what I want."

"But, you're, you're not," Kai wished he could find his words back, but they had scattered on the wind.

"It's not about sex," Leo burst out. "If I knew who convinced you that love and sex was the same thing  _unless_  you're asexual, I swear I'd kill them. You can have love without sex, why can't I? Do I like sex? It's nice. It can be fun. Thing is, I don't need sex every day. Being celibate isn't as much of a hardship as you seem to think, and if that's something you learned growing up then whoever taught you that needs to be kicked in the groin a couple of times. I don't cheat, Kai. I don't force. I just want a chance. I love you, in fact, I'm in love with you, and I have been for some time. Do you know what I think about when I'm on Terra Venture? I wonder what you look like when you're sleeping. I wonder if you dance. I wonder if you like kissing, or if you'll only settle for a kiss on the cheek. I wonder if you hog the pillows or steal the blankets. I wonder if you really like cooking, or if you cook because nobody else does."

Kai wondered if this was what a panic attack felt like. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think. There were no words in him. How did Leo say that? He was so certain, so convinced. They were words, statements, he'd only heard in his dreams. He wasn't supposed to hear them in real life.

Leo touched Kai's shoulder, and Kai stared at him, wishing he could think of something to say. Leo leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Kendrix and I are going to visit some villages on the other continent. There was a special request. We'll be back in a month or so. Think about what I said. When I come back, if you don't want to try, I'll let it go. If you want to try, we'll try. I'll wait for you though, whatever you decide."

Kai bit his lip as Leo walked away. By the time that he got himself moving, Leo and Kendrix were in the air on their jet jammers.


	17. Chapter 17

Leo stepped into the small hut with a slight grin, "Balu says that the storm should be ending soon. We'll be able to get back to Kanyo and Venture Village soon enough."

"Do you have to call it that?" Kendrix asked as she handed him a towel. "There's no way the Council will agree to Venture Village."

"You don't know that," Leo said as he dried his hair. "It's been gaining traction amongst the civilians. Kai is like you, though. He thinks it is not the best choice, but he seems willing to put up with it."

"Kai knows you think it's a good idea," Kendrix said.

Leo grinned at her, "Aw, come on Lady Laz, you know I only use my powers for good!"

"Don't call me Lady Laz and I might believe you," Kendrix said dryly.

Leo moved around Kendrix to step behind the dressing screen and began to take off his wet clothes. After a month of visiting the villages too far to travel to Kanyo in a decent amount of time, Leo had learned a great deal about body modesty and living with a woman. "You know I won't push Kai into something he's really uncomfortable with," Leo said aloud as he sifted through his clothes.

"What about this courtship of yours?" Kendrix said.

Leo laughed, "That's just Kai being stupid, Kendrix. You see, there is a song that Mike listens to when a girl breaks up with him. Yes, it has happened, do not ask him about it. Anyways, this song, there is a line that kind of sums up Kai.  _When you love someone, you've got to let them go._  That's what Kai does, he lets go of the people he loves, so that they can be happy and the whole time he puts on that stupid smile and pretends that whoever just left didn't stop on his heart with both feet."

"What?" Kendrix asked.

Leo stepped out from behind the changing screen, carrying his shirt. "You've seen that damn smile, Kendrix. It's the one he has when he talks about why he can't be in a relationship, or when you talk about that guy you were dating and Kai would go, 'that's great Kendrix, I'm glad you're happy'. No one should smile like that, especially Kai."

Kendrix frowned at him as she began to look through the food cupboard, "As his best friend, I should be offended by that, but as your friend, I have to admit that you spend a lot more time staring at Kai than I do."

"Thank you for acknowledging that," Leo said shortly. "Look, Kendrix, Kai is," he hesitated, trying to think of the words that could define how important Kai was. "Kai is my lobster, ok?"

Kendrix spun around so fast she smacked her shoulder into the door of the cabinet. "What did you say?" She demanded, clenching a can like she was about to throw it at him.

Leo shrugged helplessly, "Kai's my lobster, and he's the person I see, sixty years from now, walking beside me. I see a million mornings where I open my eyes and he's complaining that I stole the covers again, or was talking in my sleep. I can see us fighting about the bathroom and cuddling on the couch and just doing a million every day things, and just as many special ones. Twenty years from now, Kai is still going to be complaining about those blue roses I planted, especially if they're still growing in the courtyard."

Kendrix laughed, "Twenty years? Leo, Kai will never let you hear the end of it when it comes to those roses."

"Exactly," Leo said. He pulled his shirt on so that he could organize his thoughts. "Kendrix, did you know that Zhane can see the future?"

"No, I didn't," Kendrix replied, looking at the can she'd taken from the cabinet, "how do you feel about chili in a can?"

"It's not Spam is it?" Leo asked.

"Nope," Kendrix said in a way too cheerful tone. Apparently, Kendrix had heard the story of the one time Leo had ever eaten Spam. It had been a traumatic experience for the then seven-year-old Leo.

"Sounds fabulous then," Leo said easily. "Seriously though, about Zhane, he can. Karone was telling me that Silver Rangers have a minor ability to dream about the future, usually as warnings from the Power about future events. Zhane, however, is a little different. His mother was from a place called Ilan, and they have a different connection to the Power than most humans do. When Zhane spent two years in a coma while morphed, the Power and his Ilandrian heritage changed him. Not just the bleached hair and silver eyes, but he sometimes sees the future. He'll be talking to you and then suddenly stop, tell you something random, and then go right back to his conversation like it had never happened."

"That's fascinating," Kendrix said as she heated up the chili.

"He's done that a few times to me," Leo replied. "The one that I've been thinking of lately, given how Kai reacts to the suggestion that we could be more than just friends."

"What did he tell you?" Kendrix asked.

"It's funny," Leo said, "he told me that 'it's not cheating if it's a threesome.'" He sat down on one of the hammocks in the sleeping area and kicked the floor to start it swinging. "I didn't know what to think at the time, but I figured it out the other day."

"Kai doesn't want sex," Kendrix said.

"No," Leo said slowly, "but he doesn't have to have sex to be romantically involved in a threesome."

Kendrix's spoon banged against the pot sharply. "Leo, I cannot follow your logic here. Can you be a little more specific?"

Leo closed his eyes for a moment. "I like sex. It's enjoyable, and it can be fun, but I don't  _need_  it. I don't have to have sex regularly to survive; it's just a fun way to get to know someone I care about. While I'd like to say that never having sex again would be okay, I don't want to be that naïve. Zhane's suggestion of a threesome has been bothering me until I thought of something. My ex and I tried a threesome once. Just once. It was messy and ridiculous, and the only one who got off was the kid we suckered into the attempt. I don't want to have three-way sex. On the other hand, I am an incorrigible snuggler, and the more people I can pile on, the better in some situations. Zhane's suggestion made me think that maybe what could happen was that Kai and I had another person. Someone we both loved, who could balance us. A triangle is the most stable mathematical formation, after all. This person in our relationship as a permanent member, well, I could see Kai working late, and me and this person jumping in the shower together and getting handsy. Then having dinner with Kai and cuddling on the couch, with maybe a little kissing and a lot of tickling and laughter."

"I assume you have someone you want to pull into this crazy idea?" Kendrix asked, "Chili's ready, by the way."

"Great," Leo said before he rolled out of the hammock, "thanks for cooking."

"It wasn't that hard," Kendrix replied.

"Doesn't mean I don't appreciate it," Leo said as he took the bowl she offered. "And yes, there is someone that comes to mind in this scenario."

"How you think Kai will react to all of this?" Kendrix asked.

Leo shrugged, "That part, well, I'm kind of hoping that I might get him to think it was his idea. I mean, he's already seen my SZS file."

"SZS?" Kendrix asked.

"Shit Zhane says," Leo replied. "His random comments that I, or Kai, or even Mike has heard that could be important. It's not a big file, maybe a dozen or so comments, but it exists."

"So who's the lucky guy anyways?" Kendrix asked.

Leo hesitated, spoon halfway to his mouth, "I thought it would be obvious. Who do you ask to help convince someone that it's their idea to be a part of a threesome than the other person he desperately loves?"

 


	18. Chapter 18

"When it snows, ain't it thrillin', though your nose gets a chillin'."

Kai groaned as the two off-key singers came closer to the Ranger compound. With Christmas only days away, everyone was getting in on the opportunity to sing Christmas carols. It did not help that the restaurant in town had offered a prize for the best carolers, and the techs had responded by offering a prize for the most enthusiastic.

As Kai tested the soup he was making, he realized that the carolers were just going to pass by the compound, but they were, in fact stopping at the gate. That meant that if Kai did not present them with something to drink, and  _not_  water as he had previously been informed, he would become the Daily Scrooge. Again. And he would be forced to spend tomorrow playing Santa's Elf all day. Again.

Kai reached into the fridge to get the pitcher of apple cider to reheat, the doors to the courtyard swung open. Kai closed his eyes, because if Damon had forgotten to lock the gate again, there would be words between the two of them, the kind of words that made Commander Stanton give them a talking to about team unity. As Kai straightened up and looked over the top of the fridge door, he nearly dropped the pitcher of cider.

Leo and Kendrix, arm in arm, were strolling across the courtyard, grinning as they belted out the last lines of their song.

"You're back!" Kai said. He put the pitcher on the counter and strode forward, unable to keep from grinning. "I thought you'd be another two weeks at least."

Leo freed his arm from Kendrix and laughed.

"Monsoon season started early," Kendrix said, "We ran between storms rather than get stuck there for another five months."

"I'm glad you're back," Kai said, "and I'm sure Stanton will be too."

"Why, what's going on?" Leo asked.

Kai sighed, "There's been some weird readings coming from that cocoon, so the scientists have requested that we spend extra hours over there so that someone can be on hand at all times. Tempers are getting a little short because we're all so tired."

"That stops then," Leo said firmly.

Kai wanted to sag in relief, because he had tried to explain that they were being unreasonable, but everyone had talked over him, and Damon and Maya had fared no better in their attempts. Maya had simply walked away after a week of the unreasonable schedule, claiming that she was needed in Kanyo, and Damon was struggling to get through the application process for a course on vehicle maintenance and design on KO-35.

The Green Ranger had gone back and forth on whether he wanted to take the course, as it would require that he spend ten months on KO-35, and would be difficult to contact if they needed him. In the end, Kai had told him to go. They were all in their mid twenties, and while being a Ranger was fine now, Damon wanted kids, and he probably would not want to have kids and worry about his Ranger duties. Being able to design and adapt vehicles specifically for Mirinoi would be a valuable skill, would prove that Earthians could handle the sort of classes the Kerovans taught, and would open the way to finding a place in the intergalactic community for Mirinoi as a whole.

Leo had already told Damon that the choice was his, so Kai did not think that would be a problem. "Thank you," Kai said after a moment, "we tried, but no one would listen. Then something came up in Kanyo and Maya has all but moved back to the village for now and she will not go over the shifts we had when you left. The last time they tried, she simply carried both scientists out to the central plaza and had the Galacta Beasts guard them until Damon arrived for his shift, and then didn't show up for two more shifts to make her point. Damon decided he was going to do that course on KO-35, and when he is not standing guard, he is filing out the applications to do that. Which apparently include getting his school records from Earth, filing papers with Eltare about his intent, and applying for a temporary visa to live on KO-35 for ten months."

"And I'll have to do it all over again after the long break," Damon said as he walked into the compound, "glad to see you guys made it back safe."

Leo looked at them, and Kai actually  _saw_  his jaw tighten. "This isn't right," he said after a moment. "I think we're being played for fools."

"What are we going to do?" Kendrix asked.

Leo glanced at Kai for a moment, then Damon. "You two are staying here today. Get some sleep, watch a movie, I do not care. Keep those gates shut."

"We managed to fix it," Damon said, "we can now lock out anybody who doesn't have a morpher."

"Do that," Leo said, pointing at Damon. "I don't care who comes looking for you, you are off duty for the next forty-eight hours. If you see Maya, tell her I said the same thing." He turned to Kendrix, "Get the science minions and get them in a meeting room somewhere. Use force if you have to. Keep them there until I get there."

"What are you going to do?" Kendrix asked.

"I'm going to have words with Andros," Leo replied.

"Ranger Kai! Ranger Kai!" Hannali flew through the partially opened compound gate.

"What's going on?" Kai asked.

"There's trouble on Terra Venture," Hannali panted out. "Ranger Maya asks that you come immediately. She said you didn't answer your morpher."

Kai reached down and froze, noticing for the first time that his wrist was bare.

"Are you up for this?" Leo asked.

"I'm read," Damon said.

"Let me get my morpher," Kai said, thinking hard, "I'll be right back."

He hurried into his quarters, thinking about where he had last seen his morpher. He thought he remembered taking it off before he had showered the night before, so he checked the bathroom. It was sitting on the sink, beeping an intermitted pattern that signaled a contact attempt.

Kai strapped it to his wrist as he hurried back through to the courtyard, where Leo was waiting, but Kendrix and Damon were already gone. Leo looked up as he came out, "We'll be right behind Kendrix and Damon, Maya. Keep as many scientists out of that room as you can. I don't want more civilians than we can pull out in under a minute."

"I will try," Maya said, "but they are very insistent."

"Just hold on, we're coming," Leo said. "Find it?"

Kai held up his wrist, "I'm sorry," he began.

"Not your fault," Leo said, looking grim. "You weren't the one trying to force someone past their limits." He jerked his fist at the gate, "My jet jammer's right outside, want to ride with me."

"It'll be faster," Kai agreed.

The corridor outside the cocoon room was crowded with protesting scientists. Leo swore loudly, and then stuck two fingers in his mouth. Warned, Kai covered his ears seconds before Leo unleashed a loud and piercing whistle. "Listen up," he bellowed when silence fell. "There is no reason why four botanists and a group of cultural anthropologists need to be in that room right now. This is a crisis. I suggest you remove yourself to the plaza  _now_  or we will move you and have the Galacta Beasts baby sit you." He paused to glare at all of them, "Again."

"But," one of the scientists began.

"Go." Leo snarled.

Stunned, the scientists began to leave, until there was only a two remaining. The oldest of the pair was frowning at them, "Don't snarl at me," she snapped at Leo. "I'm the closest thing we have to a xenobiologist at the moment and Doctor Kaiser is my assistant. We should be in that room, instead of those idiots who were monitoring things when the alarms went off."

"I'll take care of it, Doctor," Leo hesitated.

"Mariner, Gretchen Mariner," she replied.

Leo nodded then looked at Kai, "Let's get in there."

"Go, Galactic," they shouted in unison and headed into the cocoon room.

Three scientists were bent over monitors while Maya, Kendrix, and Damon surrounded them. "Is there a good reason why our xenobiologist and her assistant aren't in here doing that?" Leo asked in a casual voice.

"It is not their shift," replied one of the scientists.

"Do you know anything about what might be about to happen?" Leo said.

The scientist stared at him.

"Because I am about five seconds away from throwing everyone out of this room except the Rangers," Leo said. "Unless you can explain why your presence is more vital than the xenobiologist, you need to leave."

"I am the head of the," the man began.

"I am so far beyond caring right now," Leo muttered before striding forward. He moved faster than Kai could track, ending up with the scientist thrown over his shoulder, kicking and screaming. "Shut up," Leo snapped, "you aren't dying." He pointed at the other two scientists, "If Doctor Mariner tells you to go, then leave. If not, Damon, Kai, get them out of here."

"Yes sir," Kai said.

"Right," Damon said.

Leo carried the protesting scientist out of the room, letting Doctor Mariner and her assistant in as he went. The Doctor studied the two remaining scientists, then pointed, "Gabe, get that camera running, make sure it's recording to storage as well as transmitting back to the lab. Michael, if you want to stay, then I need you to monitor the air quality here. The CO2 readings were fluctuating more than I like last time I had a shift in here." She looked at her assistant, "Meg, keep an eye on the secondary monitors. Whatever's about to happen is going to happen fast."

"Is there anything we can do?" Kendrix offered.

Mariner studied her, "Kendrix, right? The geneticist?"

"Right," Kendrix said.

"I might need some help in a moment; just let me check these readings. As for you three," she indicated Damon, Maya, and Kai, "If you could try not to block the cameras, that's all I need right now."

"Gretchen," Meg said, "sensor four just went out. It was flickering, and then died before I could do anything."

Mariner swore and pointed at Kai, "Sensor four is on the far side of the cocoon. The last time we had an issue over there, we nearly lost an assistant to the air quality. Will you take a look and see what happened?"

"I can," Kai agreed. He headed around the cocoon, taking care not to step on the out flung parts of it as he went. The cocoon had grown some since it was first discovered, and had put out root-like growths on the floor that looked like wood, but did not have the hard texture of wood. There were also branch like growths on the ceiling, but they were harder, and seemed less inclined to grow.

On the far side of the cocoon, Kai could see the problem immediately. The sensors were on portable stands, and one of the cocoon roots had knocked the stand over. "I think it just got knocked over," he said over his shoulder, reaching for the stand.

"Wait!" Mariner called as Kai grabbed the stand.

Something hit Kai on the shoulder, sending a pulse of agony through him. Kai screamed as his suit vanished from around him. For a brief moment, he could feel only pain.

Then the pain faded to a dull ache, and Kai became aware of someone touching his chest. He opened his eyes to find himself slumped on his back against something big and solid. Half on his chest and half on the floor were two infants, staring at him with solemn, black eyes.

Kai struggled for a moment to understand where the infants could have come from, but then blackness overtook him and he sank into unconsciousness.


	19. Chapter 19

There was a baby screaming.

Kai groaned and rolled over, trying to figure out where the screaming baby was, and why they had brought said child into the Ranger Compound.  Pain rippled through his head and Kai yelped, falling back on his back.

“Kai’s awake,” Maya said, “Are you all right?”

“Head hurts,” Kai said.

“I’ve got just the thing,” someone else said.  There was a rustling noise, and moments later, an icy sensation slid up Kai’s arm and moments later, his head stopped throbbing.

“Thank you,” he managed and opened his eyes.  “What happened?”

A pretty, young woman in nurses’ scrubs was fiddling with an IV drip, probably the source of relief.

Giggles made Kai look around to find Kendrix leaning against the wall.  Kai raised an eyebrow at her, “What?”  She asked, “It was kind of funny.  Apparently, the cocoon was moving around, that’s what messed with that sensor.  You got hit by one of its offshoots, tripped, broke two sensors and then hit the floor.”

Kai frowned, “I do not remember that,” he said.  “I remember the sensor, and something hit me.  Did the cocoon open?”

“You could say that,” Leo said as he eased into the room.  He slid the door closed behind him, “How are you feeling?”

“I feel all right,” Kai said with a slight nod.

“Doctor Carlow will be by in a few minutes,” the nurse said, patting Kai’s arm, “he’ll give you a check up then.”

“Thank you,” Kai said, he watched the nurse leave and turned back to Leo, “What happened?”

“Kendrix,” Leo said after a moment.

“Chicken,” Kendrix said as she moved to sit on Kai’s bed.  “This is going somewhere, I promise.  Do you remember the fertility clause?”

Kai flushed, remembering the requirement of all members of the colony of age to provide appropriate material to further the colonial expansion if something should happen to prevent natural procreation.

“You just thought of it in the most scientific terms you know, didn’t you?”  Kendrix asked, giggling again.

“What about it?”  Kai growled.

“About three weeks before the final battle, the clinic was hit,” Kendrix said, “it was assumed that whoever was there had been after drugs, but the genetic material was also disturbed.  Some samples were destroyed, but not as much as we originally thought.”  She shifted uncomfortably, “Also, you’ve been unconscious for three days. “

Kai blinked, and glanced around the room, “I see,” he began.

“Damon had to leave this morning,” Leo offered, “the classes he’s going to be taking start in a week, and he needs to be there.  He held out as long as he could.”

“Right,” Kai said, “about the genetic material?”

“We searched Terra Venture,” Kendrix said, “and we found three other cocoons that were inert.  We think Trakheena was employing genetic experimentation.  According to other sources, Scorpious is from a race known for genetic experimentation, and we think Trakheena was following his example, using humans.  When we explored the other cocoons, we found deformed fetuses.  The one we’ve been observing,” she hesitated again.

“The children survived,” Leo blurted out.

Kai looked from Leo to Kendrix, “What?”  He asked.

Kendrix gave Leo a long look, and then rested her hand on Kai’s leg, “Two babies emerged from the cocoon fully developed.  They’re actually the equivalent of six months old; siblings, in fact, probably fraternal twins.  We’ve done some genetic testing, and they’re almost completely human.  It’s almost as if someone tried to introduce a second genetic source that didn’t take fully.”

“What is it that has you two terrified?”  Kai asked, looking between them, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know that you can say it’s wrong,” Kendrix said.  “The mother of the children, at least biologically, she’s dead.  She died during the evacuation.  Their father is still alive however.”

“Is he going to take the children then?”  Kai asked, a sudden feeling of dread overcoming him.

“We hope so,” Leo said, “it’s up to him, though.”

The door to his room slid open.  “Kai,” Maya said as she and a nurse pushed two cradles into the room, “these two children are yours.”

“ _Mine_?”


	20. Chapter 20

When Kai was a teenager, trying to figure out why girls didn't make him feel like his friends, he'd spent days thinking about the family his parents expected him to have. When he experimented with men in college, he began to resign himself to disappointing his parents. When he learned about asexuality, Kai had wondered if he was destined to a lonely life.

When Maya placed the blue and pink wrapped bundles in his arms, Kai's only thought was that he had a family. Even if he wasn't sure how his friendship with Leo would fall out, Maya, Damon, and even Mike were as close, if not closer than his blood siblings were, and Kendrix was even more.

As he looked into the chubby, tiny faces of his children, Kai swore to himself that his children would know they were loved every day. They would never have to wonder if being who they were born to be would hurt him. They would be free to be whoever they wanted to be, secure in the knowledge that he loved him.  _His_  children would never thing that he would love them  _only if._  They would grow up safe and happy, and loved beyond doubt.

"What will you name them?" Leo asked as he perched on the edge of Kai's bed.

"I need to do that, don't I?" Kai mused, still staring at his children.

Kendrix sat down opposite of Leo and squeezed Kai's calf, "If it helps, their mother was named Hannah Martin. She was part of the social science division, early childhood development."

Kai glanced up at Kendrix for a moment, taking in her expression. There was something in her eyes, something that he'd not noticed before. Leo shifted, and Kai studied him as well. Leo's eyes were the same, so full of love and life that Kai always felt a little breathless to see it.

One of the babies stirred and Kai looked down in time to see his little girl open her eyes. While she had his features, she had hazel eyes. She must have gotten them from her mother, Kai thought in wonder. Giving her the name Hannah would give her something else to connect to her mother. He glanced at his son, and when he saw that his eyes were brown more than anything else, he knew he had the perfect name for them both.

"Kendrix, Leo," Kai said, looking up at his teammates, "I would like you to meet Hannah Lani and Cory Kekoa."

Hannah began to whimper, clearly building up to a cry. Kai looked down at her in concern.

"She probably needs a fresh diaper," Leo said, he stood up, "let me take care of that."

"You," Kendrix said.

"My neighbor back on Earth was in the military," Leo said as he lifted Hannah from Kai's arms. "Major Truman was deployed a lot right after his son was born, and I used to help Mrs. Truman when I wasn't working."

"Excuse me, Mister Chin."

Kai hadn't even heard the door open, but there was a tall man in a doctor's coat standing just inside the room. "Yes?" Kai asked.

"I'm Doctor Robards; I've come to speak with you about your accident."

"All right," Kai said. "When can I get out of here?"

Dr Robards laughed, "Normally you would be here for several days, but your Ranger healing and generally healthy nature has been kind to you. I would like to keep you overnight to ensure there are no more complications, and then you and the twins can be released in the morning."

Kai bit his lip, "But I need to get my home ready for them," he said. "Forgive me, but finding out I have children has been a bit of a shock, I have nothing for them."

"We can take care of that," Leo offered. When Kai looked at him, Leo was wrapping Hannah into her pink blanket. "I'm serious, Kai. All we need to do is go by Stores to requisition baby gear. Unless you've added stuff to your second bedroom, we can put up everything in there."

"We can't paint," Kendrix said, "the fumes wouldn't clear out in time for the twins to come home, but we can get the furniture and some toys, at least."

Kai looked between his friends, and sighed. "All right," he said. "I'd prefer it if you didn't go over the top on this, however. I don't need an over the top jungle theme or anything."

"No worries," Kendrix said, "I know how you prefer things."

Kai smiled at her, "Thanks."

"We should go," Leo said, looking at his wrist, "we'll need time to go through everything." He grinned at Kai.

"Maya should be back soon," Kendrix added as Leo helped Kai situate Hannah in his arm again.

Kai watched them leave, then turned back to the Doctor, "I would like to have things taken care of for my children tonight if possible."

"I'll send Ms. Karen up to speak with you," Robards replied, "all I know is that the children are in perfect health."

Mike came to pick up Kai the next afternoon with one of the larger electric vehicles. While the doctors hadn't hesitated to let Kai leave, they had insisted on a final round of tests for the twins. Kai hadn't objected as strongly as he could have, he wanted to make sure they were healthy too. "How are you?" Mike asked as he helped Kai settled the twins' car seats in the back.

"I feel fine," Kai replied. "A bit overwhelmed, but mostly fine. I can't believe that I'm a father."

"Surprised all of us," Mike replied, "are you sure you're going to be ok with everything?"

"I'm sure," Kai said firmly. "It'll take some adjustments, but I know that I can do this."

"We can do this," Mike said. "You're not going to be alone in this, Kai. Even if I don't actually live at the compound, I'll help in any way that I can. Leo, Kendrix, and Maya spent last night discussing how they can adjust their schedules to ensure you have a babysitter whenever you need one."

"Thank you," Kai said.

"You're surprised," Mike said, he glanced at Kai, "You are surprised. Did you think we'd abandon you? Kai, you're my friend, pretty much my best friend these days. I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't help you."

Kai glanced at Mike's wrist, remembering that it had once held a morpher.

"Exactly," Mike said. "People who become Power Rangers, or Ranger Allies, don't abandon their teammates."

Kai had expected something like this from Leo, especially after Leo had scoured space looking for Mike after they'd left the Lost Galaxy. It had never really occurred to him to see the same loyalty in Mike for all that the two were brothers.

"We're here," Mike added as he stopped the vehicle.

They took the babies, and their car seats, from the car and headed into the compound.

"Surprise!"

Kai stopped, staring.

People Kai recognized surrounded Kendrix, Maya, and Leo. There was Hannali, grinning broadly, and Colonel Stanton, and the men and women from the bridge crew of Terra Venture, and some of the civilians that Kai had met as part of his job on the colony. There was even a banner, "Welcome Home, Hannah and Cory!"

"What's this?" Kai asked.

"There's a tradition of welcoming new babies to a home," Leo said as he strolled forward. "We decided that we wanted to participate. Come on, we'll show you where the babies will sleep and then you can come to the party."

"All right," Kai said after a moment of looking around.

The babies' room was a plan white room with the same floor as the rest of the house. At least, it had been when Kai left the compound last.

Now, while the walls were still white, the floor was covered in a plush, dark blue rug. There were some pictures on the walls that made Kai give Kendrix a long look, particularly the two pictures that were hung over the white cribs. They were pictures of the twins' names, with the letters formed by small images, such as dolphins and palm trees. Kai had one very like it and had shown it to Kendrix exactly once; she must have done some digging to get those pictures now. As Kai and Mike put the twins in their cribs, Kai noted all the subtle touches, like how the other paintings were watercolors of tropical beaches. Nothing too overt, but everywhere Kai looked were small touches of his childhood.

"Well," Kendrix asked after a moment.

Kai smiled at her, "I like it, it's almost perfect."

"Almost?" Kendrix asked.

"There's too much blue," Kai said, "I don't want my children to feel pressured to be my color, after all."

"Well," Leo said from behind Kendrix, "we'll figure it out as they grow older. For now, there's a party waiting for us."

It wasn't much of a party, Kai knew. There had been some celebrations over the last two years and they had all been noisy affairs, with loud music, and huge crowds. While Kai liked those sorts of things on occasion, he liked this more laid-back affair much better. He was able to talk to everyone who came, and the food was good. Leo had asked the owners of Kai's favorite café to cater the party, and Kai appreciated it.

As the party was winding down, a large man slipped into the compound after a group left. He looked nervous and upset. "Excuse me, Rangers," he said politely.

Leo left off his conversation with Mike and moved forward while Kai began to stack the plastic cups on the table nearby. "How can we help you?" Leo asked affably.

"My name is Farkus Bulkmeier," the man said, "must people call me Bulk. I was hoping for a moment of your time."

"Sure," Leo said, "If we can help, we will."

"Sir," Bulk said.

"Leo," Leo corrected him firmly.

"Leo, I know that you Rangers have traveled back and forth to Earth in the past," Bulk said. "I was wondering, do you ever take people home?"

"We haven't before," Leo replied after a moment, "but we've never been asked."

Bulk closed his eyes, "In the last batch of emails, I got one from my sister. My father has had a heart attack." He opened them, "He's still alive, he's stable, but the doctors want him to retire. He runs a hotel back in Angel Grove, but business hasn't been doing well. My brother-in-law was supposed to be taking over the hotel, but after Dad's heart attack, he vanished. When Kato looked at the books, she found that he'd been stealing from the hotel." He hesitated a moment, "My family needs me to come home," he said softly.

Leo glanced at Kai and Kai bit his lip. They weren't supposed to do what Bulk was asking, technically, but they had made an exception before.

Someone cleared their throat, and Commander Stanton stepped past Kai. "Son, when you joined Terra Venture, you knew this was meant to be a one-way trip."

"I know," Bulk said, "but we didn't think Hector would be stealing from us."

Stanton nodded, "Your family needs help, but if you go back to Earth, you cannot come back. We're trying to build our own way of life here and we can't do that if people are going to beg to go home. However, given your family's circumstances, if the Rangers  _choose_  to make the trip, we will make an exception. You must not tell anyone that you're going either."

"Professor Phenomenous is the only one who will miss me," Bulk said, "and he's been busy with the astronomers."

"You'd better go pack then," Leo said. "Even if we can travel faster than Terra Venture did, I'd rather not be gone too long."

Bulk looked stunned for a long moment, "Thank you so much. This means so much to my family."

Leo smiled, "I can understand that."

"I'll be back in less than an hour," Bulk said, backing up. "Thank you so much!"

After the gate closed, Leo turned to look at Kai, "I'll take him and be back in a few days. As far as I'm concerned, you're off duty for the rest of the week to get the twins settled in."

Kai nodded, "All right." He hesitated a moment, "Leo, if you have time, would you look into Hannah Martin's family? I'd like to be able to tell the twins something about their mother one day."

Leo's smile was blinding, "I'd be happy too."

"I need to go," Commander Stanton said, "congratulations on your family, Mister Chin. I don't expect to see you at work until the end of the week."

"Yes sir," Kai said.

"Come on, Corbett. I'll show you the records on Martin, I'm sure her parents' address is in there."

"Thank you Commander," Leo replied.


	21. Chapter 21

Kai is starting to think that whatever powers of observation he once had have severely fallen off.  He’s also not sure if that happened before or after he became a Ranger.  All he really knows for sure is that it wasn’t until Karone showed up four weeks after Cory and Hannah came home, a few things he had accepted suddenly took on a new light.

First, though, Karone had news of her own, “So, you aren’t the only person with children.”

“Yeah?”  Kai asked, watching nervously as Karone cradled Hannah gently.

“Zhane and I have twins too,” Karone glanced up with a shy smile.

“I didn’t even…”  Kai began, and then hushed as Cory stirred in his arms.  “I didn’t know you were pregnant,” he hissed.

“I technically wasn’t,” Karone replied.  “We weren’t sure if I could even carry a child to term, so we used a surrogacy method.”

“How old are they?”  Leo asked as he appeared in the doorway.

“Five months,” Karone said, glancing from Leo to Kai.

“Congratulations,” Leo said as he kissed her cheek.  “Kendrix sent me to let you know that their dinner is ready whenever they are.”

“Thanks Leo,” Kai said.

“You’re welcome,” Leo replied with a slight smile.  “Maya’s bringing dinner back from the village.  Someone made some kind of dumplings she adores and she wants to share them with us.  She’ll be here in half an hour.”

“These two will be ready to sleep then,” Kai said.

Once they heard the door to Kai’s apartment shut, Karone turned to him, “Does he do that a lot?”

“Do what?”  Kai asked as he watched Cory wake up and smile at him.

“Help make their dinner?”  Karone replied.

“Yeah,” Kai said, “Kendrix and Leo have been a huge help.  I mean, Maya does what she can, but she’s in the village a lot and Damon’s on KO-35 now.”

“I barely get Zhane to change diapers,” Karone said, “how do you do it?”

“They volunteered,” Kai replied.  “I didn’t ask.  They hear the kids as well as I can, and they come to help when the kids need it.  That’s why I’ve been able to come back to work too, we rotate babysitting duties.”

Karone chuckled and said, “I see.”

“See what?”  Kai asked.

“Never mind,” Karone said as she looked down at Hannah.  “Something Zhane told me is starting to make a lot more sense now.”

Kai was getting really tired of people saying that to him.  He knew that Zhane was precognitive visions following his two-year coma, and he knew that Leo especially paid attention to the things Zhane had told him, but he wished that people would _tell him_ what Zhane had said, instead of alluding to it.

“So,” Kai said, “tell me about your twins.”  He shifted Cory in his arms as he headed for the door.

Karone’s smile grew bigger, “We named them Zekelan and Keevan, but everyone already just says Zeke.  Boys and they’re identical.  Their hair is already showing the Kerova mark, which always gets us interesting looks.”

“What mark?”  Kai asked.

“They have two-toned hair, like Andros.  Except Zeke and Keevan have black and white.”  Karone said.  “Zhane’s hair was bleached silver, and mine changes.”  She gave her head a little shake and her hair turned bright purple for a moment before sliding back into her usual blonde.  “Supposedly, being on KO-35 will change my hair to either match or mirror Andros’s, but it hasn’t yet.  It’s something about the radiation from the sun combining with minerals in the water.”

“Do you think they’ll have magic?”  Kai asked as they entered the courtyard.

“They will,” Karone said.  “I can feel the potential for it in them.  They won’t develop until puberty though because I refuse to force that power.”

Kai hesitated for a long moment, “Can you tell anything about Cory and Hannah?”

Karone stared at him for a long moment, “Kai.”

“We know that Cory and Hannah are human, but Trakheena was trying to do something to their genetics.  I just want to make sure they’re going to have everything they need.”  Kai said quietly.

Karone cradled Hannah and nodded, “I’ll do it.  I don’t know Cory and Hannah like I do Keevan and Zeke, so it will take a bit more than usual.”

“Thank you,” Kai said, “I just want what’s best for them.”

They put the babies in their high chairs while Kendrix brought over their food.  “How are they developing?”  Karone asked, “I mean, you said they were further developed than a new born?”

“Physically they’re six months old,” Kendrix said.  “They’ve needed some help with their movements, rolling over and such, but they’re mastering things fast.  Are you hungry, Hannah?”  She tapped her lips as she spoke.

Hannah tapped her lip as well and Kendrix gave her a spoonful of food.

“On the other hand, their mental development has been difficult to measure.  We know they’re learning, and they understand us, but we don’t know how much they understand.”  Kai said.  “At the moment, we’re treating them like normal six month olds,” he leaned over Cory, who was patting his mouth.  “Yes, Cory, I know,” he said, picking up a spoon, “you’re hungry.”  He repeated the sign for hungry.

“We’re teaching them sign language,” Leo said as he brought a tray with glasses and a pitcher over.  “My mom was hard of hearing, so Mike and I grew up knowing ASL.  Given their vocabulary, I’d say they’re a bit more advanced than six months in certain things.  We’re using baby sign, which is not as complex as ASL, but it builds a foundation of communication.”

“Can you teach me?”  Karone asked.  “I mean, would you?”

“Sure,” Leo said.  “I’ll teach you a few today and we can go over more later on.”  He offered Karone a glass, “Fruit juice?  It’s a local blend that’s really good.”

“Thank you,” Karone said.  “What does that mean?”

Kai glanced down at Cory and grinned, “He’s asking for more.  Hannah’s better with please and thank you, but Cory knows how to ask for what he wants.”  He offered the boy more food and Cory opened up eagerly.

Karone stood up after a moment, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to check them over now.  It will work better while they’re distracted.”

“Go ahead,” Kai said as he cleaned a bit of Cory’s face.

Karone nodded and moved to stand behind the twins, resting one hand gently on Hannah’s shoulder and back.  Lilac and silver sparkles trailed over Hannah for a moment, and Karone nodded slowly.  She moved over and rested a hand on Cory’s back and shoulder and lilac and gold sparkles appeared.  When the sparkles vanished, Karone stepped back for a moment with a slight frown.

“What’s wrong?”  Leo asked.

“Nothing bad,” Karone replied slowly.  She looked at Kendrix, “You said that there was some non-human genetics?”

“Yes,” Kendrix said, “why?”

“Cory and Hannah have a psychic connection,” Karone replied.  “At the moment, I’d say that they sense each other’s emotions a bit.  It’s not uncommon in twins, and I’ve seen it in Zeke and Keevan.  Andros and I used to have it too, although it’s not very strong now.  You’ve probably noticed that they’re in tune with and respond to each other.”

“Almost like they’re in synch,” Leo said.

“Exactly,” Karone nodded.  “That bond is going to strengthen as they get older.  From what I could tell, it’s going to be exclusive to each other, but they both have the _potential_ for empathy on a larger scale.  It won’t develop until they’re older, if at all.  They also have strong, instincts and memory.  I think that’s what that non-human DNA is doing.  It’s allowing them to access the racial memory that all species have.  Most humans barely tap into it, but you’ll see Hannah and Cory understand things better, and possibly earlier, than normal children.  You’ll need to teach them things like math and reading, but when they start talking, especially given that you’re teaching them to sign, they’ll be more articulate at a younger age.  They’re currently experiencing rapid development, but I think it will taper off over the next six months.  From what I can tell, they’ll slow down when they start hitting the year old milestones and develop normally after that.”  She moved around to take her seat, “Also, I know their Ranger colors.”

Kai held up his hand before Leo and Kendrix could say anything.  “Is there anything about their colors that we need to be aware of?  Anything that would make it better for them now or as they’re growing up?”

Karone frowned, “I don’t think so.  I could ask Andros and Zhane if you wanted.”

Kai nodded, “We don’t need to know their Ranger colors now.  Knowing their colors will lead to expectations that they will feel pressured to meet.  All I want if for them to grow up happy and loved.  Unless Andros and Zhane want us to be aware of anything now, then we’ll let it be.”

Karone nodded, “I can respect that.”

“You really don’t want to know?”  Leo asked.

Kai shook his head, “Cory and Hannah are Cory and Hannah.  They’ll have enough pressure being a Ranger’s child without having to deal with expectations for their future.”

It wasn’t until later, when Leo and Kendrix took the twins to lay down and Karone was gone, that Kai thought about what Karone had said about Leo and Kendrix helping him.  He hadn’t even thought about it after Leo and Kendrix had both surprised him in the middle of night.  It just seemed natural that Leo and Kendrix would help him take care of the twins.  Leo had provided experience in babies from his own history and Kendrix had been quick to absorb and learn about issues such as colic and illnesses even though they weren’t a problem yet.

Not only that, but there had been other, little things that both Leo and Kendrix had started doing that just made his life a little easier.  It was things that Kai had simply done for himself, and were starting to be done by Leo and Kendrix.

Kai remembered Hannali finally explaining some of the Mirinoian courtship rituals; how one of the first steps was to prove how the one doing the courting could make life better for the one being courted.  Hannali had claimed, and Kai believed, that the flowers and music Leo had attempted were drawn from Earth practices, but this, helping to care for the twins, this sounded like something the Mirinoians would think up.

Kendrix and Leo came out of his house and sat down, pouring more juice.  “We need to talk,” Kai said finally, “All three of us.”

“What’s up?”  Leo asked as he topped up Kai’s glass.

“You’re up to something,” Kai said.  “You’ve both been so helpful with Cory and Hannah, and more than that, I haven’t had to do any of your chores for you because you’ve gotten busy.  I haven’t had people dropping by to comment on what crazy thing you’ve done.  We’ve been on Mirinoi for two years.  _Two years._   I’m waiting for someone to make a pod person joke because there hasn’t been any _do you know what your teammate did today_ conversations since Cory and Hannah came home.  What’s going on?”

“Karone,” Leo said, leaning into Kendrix for a moment.

“Definitely Karone,” Kendrix said.  She raised her eyebrows at Leo, but he shook his head.  Kendrix sighed and reached over to grip Kai’s arm, “Yes, something’s going on.  It’s not something bad either.”

“It’s something Zhane said,” Leo added.  “At the time, it didn’t make any sense to me, but I think it’s starting to.”

“What did Zhane say?”  Kai asked.

“He said it wasn’t cheating if it was a threesome,” Leo said quietly.

 _“What?”_   Kai yelped.

“I know,” Leo said, “it doesn’t sound like something any of us might be interested in.  I mean, I’ve tried a threesome.  They’re messy, awkward, and more trouble than pleasurable.”

“I’ve never tried one,” Kendrix said, “although I’ve had a few offers.”

Leo eyed her for a moment, and then shook his head.  “The thing is though; I realized I’d made the same assumption you do.  That a relationship has to be about sex, and only sex and anything else is just window dressing.  Looking at it from a different angle, I hate living alone.  You can ask Mike, I go crazy if I can’t be around people.  I’m not some hug crazy octopus, but I like being able to hug people, or to cuddle with them.”

“You know my issues with my roommates,” Kendrix said, “I get close to people fast.  You once said I never met a stranger because as soon as I hugged them we were friends.”

“What does this have to do with anything?”  Kai asked.

“Kendrix and I, we don’t fit,” Leo said.  “You suggested it several times, but it wouldn’t work just the two of us.  We’re too much alike in some ways and too different in others.  Sure, I love Kendrix, and I could fall _in_ love with her, but we’d crash and burn quickly without balance.”  He reached over and squeezed Kai’s arm.  “You balance us.  You already do that.  We’ve been talking, and we want you to consider us.  The three of us, with Cory and Hannah.”

Kai stared at the two of them.  He wanted to scream at them, tell them they were crazy, that it would never work.  These two wonderful people didn’t need him.  Not the way that he’d need them.

Kai’s racing thoughts stilled.  He looked at his friends, then down at his cup of juice.  He needed them.  He would need them more if they started this.  If he said yes, if he took what they were offering, he’d be utterly destroyed when they decided to let him go.

“Hey,” Leo said, sliding onto the bench beside Kai, “come out of there, Kai.  Tell us what you’re thinking.”

“I can’t,” Kai whispered, closing his eyes and trying to keep himself still.

“You can,” Kendrix replied as she leaned against his other side.  “What do you want, Kai?  Not what can you have, but what do you want?”

How did they make it seem so easy?  They both just expressed their feelings so openly, they wanted what they wanted and they said it.  “This,” Kai said after what felt like hours.  “This is what I want.”  He opened his eyes and looked at both of them.  “I want both of you.  I want us.  But…”

“No buts Kai,” Leo said, wrapping an arm around Kai’s shoulders.  “No doubts.  I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’d have to drag me away with the Galacta Beasts,” Kendrix added, kissing his cheek.

Kai closed his eyes, praying that he was making the right choices.

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episode Tag: Forever Red
> 
> Chapter Tag: Red Fraternity, Forever Red and A Monkey
> 
> There's a time jump from the last chapter. The twins are physical almost two but mentally closer to three or four because I've never spent more than a few hours around a toddler and thus decided that a side effect of their genetic tampering is that their mental age is more advanced.

Kai hummed to himself as he dressed Cory after his bath.  “All clean, little one,” he breathed as he lifted Cory off the cabinet, “Go find Mommy and let her see, okay?”

“Okay,” Cory said and ran out of the bathroom.

“Daddy?”  Hannah said.

“What’s up, baby?”  Kai asked as he scooped her out of the tub.

“Where’s Papa?”

Kai cleared his throat, “He had to go away for a few days.  He’ll be back soon.”

“Kai!”  Kendrix shouted, “My God Kai, get in here!”

Clutching Hannah to his chest, Kai ran for the living room where Kendrix was staring at the comm. feed.  _“According to our sources, Astro Red Andros of KO-35 discovered the remains of the Machine Empire while traveling with his brother-in-law and teammate Astro Silver, Zhane of KO-35.  He called upon the Rangers of Earth for assistance because of their previous victories against the Machine Empire.  Andros was joined by Elder Earth Red Jason Lee Scott, Red Zeo Tommy Oliver, Blue Astro TJ Johnson, Red Lightspeed Carter Grayson, and a new Red Ranger.  We were also told that while Blue Zeo Rocky DeSantos was unable to appear, surprise assistance came from former Aquitian Red Ranger Aurico and Red Mirinoi Ranger Leo Corbett.”_

“He is dead,” Kendrix said, crossing her arms.  “I don’t care what excuse he gives, he’s dead.”

“I’ll help you space the body,” Kai offered, adjusting his grip as Hannah squirmed.

“Daddy,” Hannah said, tugging at his shirt, “Is Papa in trouble?”

Kai hugged her, “Just a bit.”

“Papa said it was,” Hannah frowned, wiggled a bit to free her arms, and signed something.

“Easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission?”  Kai said, looking at Kendrix.

“Somehow, that explains a lot more than it doesn’t,” Kendrix said.  “Hannah that is not a good thing.  Papa says that because he’s doing something Daddy and I won’t like if he told us first.  When Daddy, Papa, or I tell you not to do something, we always have a reason for it.  We’ll explain why if you ask, but we aren’t saying no just to be mean.”

“Another moral lesson?”  Mike asked.

“Another case of ‘just because Papa does it doesn’t mean you can do it,’” Kendrix replied.

“You saw the broadcast then,” Mike said.

“Oh yes,” Kai said.  “If you’ll excuse me, Mike, I have a naked toddler in my arms.”

“Don’t let me keep you,” Mike said.

“Was there something you needed?”  Kendrix asked as Kai walked into the bathroom.

“I heard from Leo actually,” Mike said, “he’s fine.  In fact, he said the fight was ‘too easy’.  He’ll be back tomorrow.”

Kai smiled to himself as he dressed Hannah.  “Your Papa is a troublemaker Hannah,” Kai said as he tugged her sleeves into place.  “Did I ever tell you how I met your Papa?”

“No,” Hannah said.

Kai smiled, “Let’s get your brother into bed and I will tell you the story.”

CoKCoKCoK

Leo looked properly abashed when he left the Mark II.  Kai and Kendrix stood at the edge of the landing zone, arms crossed and frowning.  Kai couldn’t hear what he said but he’d lay odds that Leo had muttered, “I’m in trouble.”

Karone, who followed him, grinned and clapped his shoulder before trotting past him and across the field.  “I just want to say that this is not my fault,” she said.  “I told Leo exactly what I needed.”

“Why Leo, why not all of us?”  Kendrix asked.

“Power,” Karone said.  “Red Rangers working in concert can draw on the strength of their entire team.  It’s why TJ spoofed the Turbo uniform, to serve as a catalyst for the others.  If we had failed, then I would have been here to collect you to help take back Earth, along with Mike to take up the Red powers.”

“Next time make sure _you_ tell us what’s going down,” Kai said.  “Leo doesn’t like to make us worry.”  He stalked passed Karone to where Leo was standing, looking sheepish.

“How angry are you?”  Leo asked.

Kai smiled, “I’m not angry, Leo.  I’m disappointed.”

“Disappointed?”  Leo asked.

“I thought the point of us was to be able to support and trust each other.  I thought the point of us was that we didn’t have to deal with things alone anymore.  The fact that you still can’t trust Kendrix and I to understand what’s going on, the fact that you don’t think Kendrix and I can handle you putting yourself in danger with a group of people we don’t know that well, that just means that I failed.  I’m disappointed that I couldn’t…”

Leo through himself forward and kissed Kai hard.  It wasn’t their first kiss, but it was rare enough that for a long moment he was too startled to react.  Then Leo pulled back, “I didn’t tell you because…” he hesitated, “I was afraid.  I know you and Kendrix will be there whenever I ask.  I was just afraid that if I told you, you’d follow me and get hurt, or you’d talk me into staying and they would have failed and the Empire would have come hunting us and I would have lost everyone.  I just wanted to keep everyone safe.”

Kai rested his head on Leo’s shoulder, “Stop making me not mad at you,” he mumbled.  “Supposed to make you suffer.”

Leo chuckled and pulled him into a hug.  “Kendrix will do enough of that for both of you.”


	23. Chapter 23

The modern two-story house had been painted white with blue trim.  It was probably less than ten years old, and judging by the two cars in the driveway, the owners were very well off.  Kai clenched his fist to stop it from shaking, then reached out to ring the doorbell.

After a moment, a tall man with dark hair and all too familiar hazel eyes opened the door.  “Can I help you?”  The man asked.

“Are you Bryan Martin?”  Kai asked.

“Yes,” the man said suspiciously.

“I was hoping I could have a moment of your time.  My name is Kai Chen, I was an officer on Terra Venture with Doctor Hannah Martin.”  Kai hesitated, “Please, Mister Martin, it’s important.”

Martin stepped back, “Come inside then.”

Kai stepped past him, “I apologize for not calling ahead, but the number in our database was disconnected.”

Bryan nodded slightly, “We moved houses about a year ago.  If you’ll come this way, we can talk in private.”  He led Kai through a living room where a young girl was watching cartoons and into a well-appointed study.  “What is this about, Mister Chen?”  He asked as he settled into the chair behind the desk.

Kai sat down and closed his eyes, “When the GSA was hiring officers and specialists for Terra Venture, they required all of their people to be able to have children to ensure future generations on the colony.  They also made sure that another generation was possibly by storing the appropriate genetic material in case of an emergency.”

“I am aware of that,” Bryan said, “Hannah was afraid she had mother’s endometriosis, but the tests proved she would be able to have children.”

“Yes,” Kai nodded, blushing slightly.  “Not long after Doctor Martin’s death, there was a break in at the genetics lab.  At the time, it was concluded that the intruder was looking for controlled substances and picked the wrong lab.”

“You mean drugs?”  Bryan asked.

“Yes,” Kai said, “which was completely ridiculous because everyone knew the botanists were the ones growing weed.”  He coughed, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Bryan said with a smile.

“About three years ago, following the second defeat of Trakheena here on Earth, we discovered several cocoons on the wreckage of Terra Venture.  Most of them were dead, but there was a viable cocoon from which twin humans were born.  From what we found since, we believe Trakheena was attempting to genetically manipulate human fetuses, but her more advanced manipulations resulted in failure.  She acquired the genetic materials she needed from the Terra Venture reproduction banks.”  Kai held up his hand.  “The viable experiment, the twins?  They are fraternal twins and full siblings, a boy and a girl.  According to their DNA, Hanna Martin was their mother.”

“You discovered this three years ago,” Bryan said, “why I am I hearing about this now?”

“It took time to find you,” Kai began.

“Three years?  Where you using them as lab rats or something?”  Bryan asked.

“You think I…”  Kai stood up.

“How should I know?  I hope you have a good explanation, because my lawyers are going to have a field day with this.”  Bryan also stood up.

“If you think this would make it,” Kai said.

“I’m sure my Congressman,” Bryan interrupted him.

“God damn you,” Kai shouted, “Hannah and Cory are going to grow up never knowing their mother.  I’ll be damned to the Lost Galaxy before I let you take the away from me.  Hannah Martin was their mother, but _I’m their father.”_

“You’re their father,” Bryan said.

“I am,” Kai said.  “It’s been three years because finding your family wasn’t the priority for me.  It was raising my children, the only children I’ll probably ever have.”  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, leather wallet.  “I named them Hannah and Cory.  I came here hoping to get to know you so that when the twins ask about their mother, I can introduce you to them.”

Bryan took the wallet and opened it.  “They’re beautiful,” he said after a moment.

“They have her eye color,” Kai said.

His communicator beeped.  Kai hissed, “Excuse me,” He told Bryan.  “Go for Kai.”

“Kai, Leo, we’ve got a problem,” Leo said, sounding strained.

“What happened, are Hannah and Cory all right?”

“No,” Leo said.  “Kai, someone took them.  They knocked me unconscious and took them.”

“I’m on my way,” Kai said.

CoKCoKCoK

“Cryo stasis engaged, vital signs are optimal on both subjects,” the technician announced.

A human man and a violet-skinned Capellan stared at the two stasis tubes.  “The other experiments might have failed, but Trakheena’s payment will fulfill our needs.”  The Capellan said.

“Hart’s first two children have been a disappointment, but Subject K looks promising,” the human replied.  “In two years, we will know if the genetic enhancements were inherited or not.”

“Hart does not suspect you?”  The Capellan asked, looking at the human.

“The Charlie Johansson identity is flawless.  As far as Hart knows, she is married to an accountant with a living parent and happily settled in Toronto.  After we confirm Subject K is a viable case, then we will ensure that Hart believes that Johansson is dead and I will take over Alphabet Soup.”  The human crossed his arms, “It’s a shame, really.  Even if the enhancements weren’t inherited by Subject D or Subject T, they have a great deal of promise.”

“We also have promising reports from the latest of the mutation experiments,” the Capellan said.  “In the next two years we will begin transposing mutations on human fetuses, but our current tests indicate they are very promising.”

“We will have to split the labs when the Soup becomes active,” the man said.  “It would not due for our work to be prematurely interrupted.”

“We’re already preparing a new site for the mutations.  We call it The Reserve.”  The Capellan said.

The man nodded, “See that Captain Birdie is kept informed of our work.  I need to go,” he smiled at the Capellan, “Kim’s making tacos for dinner tonight.”  He turned and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of Courtship and I am cackling maniacally. This ending came to me literally less than thirty-six hours ago, and I find it perfect.


End file.
